Stardust 20091201 Scan11 Sonu Sood

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Is he a hunk or is he a calligrapher?

My wildest fantasy: I don't fantasize dude... I make it a reality...

Sonu Sood is a hunk AND a calligrapher.

Stardust 20091201 Scan10 Bipasha Basu

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Bipasha Basu is looking very carefree and naughty here. Thanks mainly to that funky hairdo.

Stardust 20091201 Scan09 Amrita Rao

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Amrita Rao has hired the services of Shah Rukh Khan's trainer to help her achieve physical perfection. Looks perfect enough to me.

Stardust 20091201 Scan08 Himesh Reshammiya

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Looking all ripped and ready to go. Himesh is yet another multi-talented prodigy in Bollywood. He started producing blockbuster television serials at the tender age of 16 and became a music director when he was only 25. At 32, he stepped into the world of singing. His debut album Aap Kaa Surroor (2006) proved to be a mega hit.

Stardust 20091201 Scan07 Aishwarya Rai

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Yet another example of just how slight a change in hairstyle can make someone look so different. Also notice how Abhishek's head makes an otherwise Unforgettable Tour very much Forgettable.

Stardust 20091201 Scan06 Aishwarya Rai

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I love Aishwarya's expression in this snap. The toning is great and the neck is covered but the expression literally takes the cake.

Stardust 20091201 Scan05 Katrina Kaif

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This snap did actually manage to surprise me a bit. Ranbir is looking taller and Katrina is looking shorter than our popular perception of them might be.

Stardust 20091201 Scan04 Deepika Padukone

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This is a really odd image with the right elbow bent forward and the hair all over the place and yet it works. That's the magic of photography - moment capture. You have to keep clicking and then viewing. It is like banging arbitrarily on a keyboard and suddenly something starts sounding musical.

Stardust 20091201 Scan03 Kajol

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Kajol almost always ends up looking great. Here, however that extra edge is provided by a subtle gradient in tone.

Stardust 20091201 Scan02 Tanushree Dutta

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I love the light play and expression on Tanushree's face. The movie Apartment is a thriller starring Anupam Kher, Tanushree Dutta, Rohit Roy and Neetu Chandra.

Stardust 20091201 Scan01 Amrit Maghera

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Amrit Maghera is an Indian - English model, Actor, Singer and a Dancer from the United Kingdom. She has had formal acting training in London and has a first class degree in Drama and Dance. She has trained professionally in many different styles of dance from a very young age such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Bollywood and Hip Hop. She has done several stage shows (London Astoria, Birmingham NEC, and Wembley Arena) and on television (MTV) and for International artists such as Kayne West, Guns and Roses and Body Rockers.

Femina 20091202 Scan11 Varsha Talera

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The model's face is exquisite. But we'll be able to appreciate it only when we can take our eyes off those never ending legs.

Femina 20091202 Scan10 Poonam Chauhan

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Poonam is looking the best in that red dress but personally I like it when a person is not conscious about her own beauty. That's the reason I like her more in that white dress.

Femina 20091202 Scan09 Grazia Ad

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I love the model's face, hair and expression but not the dress or the clutch. Still this is quite an artistic image in its composition and toning. It is clearly the work of some old hand who understands the medium very well.

Femina 20091202 Scan08 Nandana Sen

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Doesn't Nandana Sen resemble Zeenat Aman somewhat. I once saw her on NDTV Good Times. She had been featured in a program called The Fit and the Famous. She was enjoying exotic food at some high end restaurant. Till date, I have not been able to get my hands on that video. It showed her class through and through. She is way above the rest. She is Bond Girl material. And I would say that even if there were no such rumours going around.

Femina 20091202 Scan07 Pooja Chopra

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I love the way the angles of the belt match the angles of the dress (cubism?). But that's about the only thing good in this snap. The rest is kind of run of the mill.

Femina 20091202 Scan06 Dipika Pallikal

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In a fairly elaborate advertorial with more than 10 pages, this image was the best of the lot. What I liked most about the photo is the play of colours topped off by the red line on the wall. The fact that the skin is toned down exaggerates the colour play.

Femina 20091202 Scan05 Coconut oil

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Very clean, natural and beautiful face.

Femina 20091202 Scan04 Feature

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The model on the left is looking much better. It maybe because I seem to prefer dark hair and dark jeans.

Femina 20091202 Scan03 Shruti Agarwal

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I like the overall colour scheme and the background but not the hair. And especially not the skirt. And especially because she is sitting. I became Shruti's fan when I caught her interview on Rediff. She is quite sophisticated.

Femina 20091202 Scan02 Shruti Agarwal

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I like the way the bug brooch complements the flowers on the dress and especially its placement close to the neck. I also like the upper half of the background. But the rest of the image is quite ordinary. The flowers have been overdone and the gloves are too short, too thick and too black.

Femina 20091202 Scan01 Shruti Agarwal

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I love the background blur and how it complements the colours of the dress. And the dress is nice too but the most striking feature of this image is how Shruti Agarwal's hair blends in with the fur collar. And her face has come out very well too.

Pune Times 20091106 Scan01 Preity Zinta

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I love the expression and toning. She really seems to have Been There and Done That. Her sporting background (gymnastics, karate, basketball, rifle shooting) and now involvement with IPL's Kings XI Punjab seems to have changed her priorities in life from movies to sports.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan11 Sonam Kapoor

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In my opinion, this photo belongs to Sonam Kapoor's 10 best club. Fine, the shoes and earrings are a bit messy but there is no other flaw anywhere else. Superb toning, composition, pose, dress, light play and all this from such an ordinary setting. Mr Burman deserves all the credit.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan10 Deepika Padukone

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I love this photo because it focuses on the shoulders instead of the face triggering some sort of reverse psychology in the sense that now the face looks even better because it was ignored.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan09 Nita Ambani

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Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, depends a lot on his coterie of advisors. So naturally his wife is his most dependable confidante. In that sense, Nita Ambani is among India's most powerful women.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan08 Arjun Rampal

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I associate this look mostly with Gaurav Chopra. It does not suit Arjun Rampal as much because we know him to be an ideal husband and father. Besides the dress is too plain for a movie star.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan07 Aishwarya Rai

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All over the world, Millinery seems to be dying. I absolutely love the hat despite the hair being all over the place really. It is extremely well made and suits Aishwarya perfectly. Also the background blur and the leefy green patch are done to perfection. If only the blouse had contrasted with the jacket in colour or at least in fabric. I also didn't like the watch, hand and ring especially given that she is Longines Ambassador of Elegance.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan06 Kareena Kapoor

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This snap is special not just because of its toning but also because of the way the background integrates into the composition. The only thing that is a bit awkward is the right hand and all those rings. But then hands and feet are culprits in most snaps.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan05 Kareena Kapoor

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This is a lovely photo of Kareena for one reason alone - the expression. Not that the hair is not special in its own way.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan04 Kavita Chougule

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I have always loved Kavita Chougule for her regal bearing so this image is a keeper straight off. But it is very well composed to boot. And has lovely light play and background too. The only thing that bothers me is the mismatch in fabrics. The top is too dull and too seamed and those needless pockets are the last straw really.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan03 Ayesha Thapar

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This is a lovely example of the effect of contrast on our perception. Here I like Ayesha Thapar mostly because I don't like Genelia or Queenie. It maybe that their clutches are not as good as Ayesha's or that their hems are all over the place. Ayesha is looking much better put together and in control.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan02 Bunty Bajaj

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I don't like any of those bags but of the three ladies, Bunty Bajaj is looking the best. Some of the credit must go to that pink background.

Hi Blitz 20091101 Scan01 Chitrangada Singh

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Chitrangada Singh is looking very different and very nice mainly because of her hair and that dress. All credit must go to the dress designer Gaurav Gupta. How those folds manipulate our perception of the wearer's proportions is where all the action really is.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan06 Irrfan Khan

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I absolutely love how professionally Dia Mirza is holding that gun. And how that oversized watch is echoing, in a way, the circumstances being oversized for her. Even so, this scan belongs to Irrfan Khan. That Armani Exchange buckle is a bit cheesy but the snap is lovely. In fact all the characters are looking good. Acid Factory had a really interesting storyline.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan05 Neha Dhupia

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My impression that Neha Dhupia is a very physical person got strengthened when I read that she is friends with Ritwik Bhattacharya who happens to be a sportsman (National Squash Champion), which is not to say that Ritwik or for that matter Neha are all brawn and no brains.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan04 Vidya Balan

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This image easily qualifies to be among Vidya Balan's Top 10 photographs. I like even the absence of earrings because the mood is centred around getting dressed up for a party (or changing into a night suit after having been to a party). And thinking about what might happen (or happenned) at that party.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan03 Vidya Balan

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Here the background is so right for the composition. But even more than that is the revelation that Vidya tries to associate movies with perfumes.

"That scent transports me to the film, the shoot, the character... It is a subconscious aide"

I respect her so much more for it. It is clear that she is very intelligent and knows the inner workings of her mind. Even in itself, it is so brilliant an idea. So many others can benefit from associating specific perfumes with specific experiences.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan02 Vidya Balan

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Eye shadow extensions mostly succeed in changing our perception of the person. Here the hairdo and hairpin add to the impact created by the eye shadow. All the more reason for the shots to be in B&W.

Cine Blitz 20091001 Scan01 Vidya Balan

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Our lives have become so stressful. Each day has become some sort of a fight. That is the reason it was so refreshing to see Vidya Balan looking content and at ease.

Computer Active 20091101 Scan02 HDR

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Despite far superior technology, photographic film is still better than digital cameras in emulating the dynamic range our eyes can perceive. That's where High Dynamic Range steps in. Wikipedia defines HDR as a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to represent more accurately the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

Computer Active 20091101 Scan01 Assembled Computers

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Despite all the craze over laptops, desktops are the real workhorses and not just because they are more powerful but also because they are more open. In fact, laptops are almost like other electronic gadgets - proprietory. Fine we might be able to swap the OS or the hard disk or the memory stick but that's just about it. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense to assemble our own desktop. And even if we entrust the procurement and assembly of components to our local computer dealer, at least we can take comfort from the fact that desktops hardly ever suffer systemic failures. Branded PCs (same components but better packaging) make sense to corporates where reliability, service and legality take precedence over cost and comfort level. The only thing we need to look out for is obsolescence. For instance if the mainboard of our PC takes DDR2 memory and nowadays PCs are coming with DDR3 RAM, we may not be able to procure DDR2 RAM easily. Either it might have gotten more expensive, or might not be available with warranty or even might not be available new. Similarly in storage, the market has already shifted from IDE to SATA. And so on. Enterprising outfits do come out with adapters to bridge these changes but major players usually stay clear of such compromises.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan13 Makeover

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An example of just how talented our makeover maestros really are.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan12 Hritik Roshan

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Hritik Roshan has always been an "Adorable Hunk". But here, thanks to that hairdo, one is compelled to drop the term "Adorable" from the epithet.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan11 Bipasha Basu

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This image is a perfect example of what might be called a kindergarten snap where each child is lost in his or her own world. Here, of course, Bipasha Basu's world is certainly looking the best of the lot.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan10 Sushmita Sen

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If you like something in any shape or form, then it indicates a soul connection. I happen to love all kinds of polo necks. For me at least, necks are crucial to how I perceive elegance.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan09 Rajeev Khandelwal

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This is a nearly perfect photo of Rajeev Khandelwal. The only two things wrong are the excessive bleaching and the twig. The whole point of bleaching (or stone washing, I know stones are no longer used) is just so the pair of jeans gets a worn out look even though it is brand new. A proper riding whip would have gone so well with those riding boots. Some horse in the background could have added to the overall impact. Still an excellent composition.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan08 Katrina Kaif

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If Katrina Kaif is looking gorgeous, as much as half the credit must go to her hair. A bit unmanaged but lovely shade and lustre, helped, of course, by the dark dress on both herself and Akshay.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan07 Citizen Ad

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The model is too sweet for my taste and the dress is too awkward and the watch shown has too deep a dial and too colourful a pearl finish, but the background has been done to perfection. No question about it.

Filmfare 20091125 Scan06 Sonam Kapoor

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In this scan, all three snaps are candid moment captures and each is interesting, but what makes Sonam take the cake is her zulf - earring - neck combo accentuated by the background blending. Despite that bedsheet of an evening dress (toga?), she is looking nearly perfect. A keen Photoshopper could extract Sonam's head and shoulders and make a darn good poster out of it.