By Philip Pullella SUMIRAGO, Italy | Wed May 9, 2012 5:27am EDT SUMIRAGO, Italy (Reuters) - Mention the name Missoni, and most think of a fashion empire that revolutionized textile patterns, spawned the no-bra look on the catwalks, and is now a global brand that designs everything from sweaters to sheets to hotels. But none of it would have happened had it not been for the 1948 London Olympics, where one kind of flame sparked another between Rosita Jelmini and Ottavio Missoni.She was 16, going on 17, a shy Italian girl in London to improve her English. He was 27, a tall, strappingly handsome member of the Italian 400 meters hurdles team at the Games where the world was trying to put the devastation of ... Continue reading →

JoJo Whilden/HBO “Girls,” with Lena Dunham, left, and Allison Williams, is broadcast Sunday nights on HBO. With more good shows on TV than time and digital video recorders can easily accommodate, viewers are planning their menus carefully. LIKE a lot of television fans, Kelly Foster had a problem last Sunday. Too much TV — and not enough time to watch or hard drive space to record it all. So it was a two-DVR day for Ms. Foster, 46, an event producer in New York. The digital video recorder in her living room taped “The Good Wife” on CBS, while she watched the broadcasts of “Nurse Jackie” on Showtime and “Girls” on HBO; meanwhile, the DVR in her bedroom backed up “Oprah’s Next Chapter” on OWN ... Continue reading →

You have to hand it to Shoojit Sircar and Juhi Chaturvedi – the duo have made a Bollywood film about a topic like sperm donation without a double entendre. This also speaks volumes about Chaturvedi’s skill (she wrote story, screenplay and dialogue), because ‘Vicky Donor” is hands down the funniest film of the year so far. Sircar and Chaturvedi, both from the advertising world, address issues such as sperm donation, infertility, stereotyping and even the aching loneliness that sets in after a spouse dies young, with such light-hearted humour and panache that you cannot help but applaud their effort. Ayushmann Khurrana plays Vicky Arora, a rather dashing young man who lives in a “refugee colony” (referring to refugees who came in from Pakistan during the ... Continue reading →

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar MUMBAI | Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:04pm IST MUMBAI (Reuters) - Irrfan is probably India's most successful export to Hollywood, having tasted success with experimental roles in several critically acclaimed films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "A Mighty Heart." But the 40-something actor said he has no plans to move to Hollywood. His last Bollywood outing, "Paan Singh Tomar", based on the true story of an Indian athlete who turns into a dreaded outlaw, pleased critics and was a sleeper hit at the Indian box-office this month.Irrfan spoke to Reuters about "naive" Indian audiences, how Hollywood gives him rare experiences and why he doesn't use his last name any more.Q: Were you surprised by the kind of success that "Paan Singh Tomar" ... Continue reading →

The Business of Kirana Stores Photo: Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi. “RK Laxman ka dey na?” yelled a delivery boy over my head. Every time I visit Sagar Stores opposite Amarsons Garden on Bhulabhai Desai Road, I learn something new. Last week I found out that they count Salman Rushdie, RK Laxman, and comic actor Dinesh Hingoo (known for bit parts and comic roles in nearly 300 movies, including Baazigar) among their customers. Typically though, I learn about things that are a little bit more useful. A few years ago, when part of my job was to write about new products in Mumbai’s packaged food retail scene, I would religiously visit them every fortnight to ask what salesmen have peddled lately. It is here that I discovered ... Continue reading →