Naturals Salon felicitates mothers of illustrious Indian achievers

~ Inaugurates its 500th salon by honouring mothers of illustrious Indian achievers including mothers of legendary AR Rahman & Sachin Tendulkar ~

Mumbai 29th Aug 2015(Sana Sayed): To mark its milestone 500th salon in Mumbai, Naturals chain of Salons, the pioneer in the Indian beauty & hair salon industry felicitated the mothers of illustrious Indian achievers with its first edition of ‘Mothers of India 2015′ awards. The gala event, at Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on August 29, endeavored to recognize, appreciate and felicitate the distinguished mothers of the remarkable achievers. These achievers – Gems of India – from different genres across sports, music, dance, business and literature have contributed to the pride of our country.

Kareema Begum, mother of the Grammy & Academy Award winning musician A.R. Rahman, was the first celebrity mother to receive the award. The other celebrity mothers honoured were the mothers of cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, tennis player Sania Mirza, shooter Abhinav Bindra, Bharatanatyam dancer Alarmel Valli, Carnatic musician Bombay Jayasree, playback singer Shankar Mahadevan and Chinmayi Sripada, author Chetan Bhagat and entrepreneur Gaurav Marya amongst many more. Other distinguished guests present at the event included Chanda Kochchar, Kishore Biyani and Sivamani among others.

Speaking at the press conference, Naturals Founder-MD, Ms. K. Veena said “We at Naturals are extremely delighted to announce the recipients of the ‘Mothers of India 2015′ award. We strongly believe that this is not just an event to pay tribute to them and their illustrious progenies, but also an event to showcase the special & strong bonding that we Indians have with our mothers. This award by Naturals was instituted to honour mothers who always stand by their children, silently contributing to their growth and success.”

Reflecting on Naturals milestone 500^th salon and its unstinted support towards women entrepreneurs, Mr. C.K. Kumaravel, Co-Founder-CEO, said “As India’s most prominent salon chain, we are proud to share that we have today achieved our milestone 500, with the launch of our 4th outlet in Mumbai. More importantly, I would like to state that 400 out of the 500 salons are being headed and successfully run by women franchisees. The success of Naturals is ample proof of what women can achieve and is an effective portrayal of what the future holds for women entrepreneurs”.

Naturals Salon’s short-term vision includes encouraging 1000 women 
entrepreneurs with 3000 Naturals outlets and creating 15000 jobs by 2018.

Review of Phantom

Watch the trailor here

Mumbai 28th Aug 2015(Sana Sayed): A Phantom-like vigilante is surreptitiously chosen by RAW officers to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to book.

A shamed army officer, Daniyal Khan (Saif) is living a life of anonymity. Court-martialed because evidence points out that he was not with his team when the enemy attacked, he yearns to earn his stripes back. As it so happens, there is a covert intelligence group, who is seething that the Centre has not been able to avenge the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.

They know permissions from official quarters will not come. So, they just take it upon themselves to launch a `punish-those-terrorists' movement. After all, like one young officer (Zeeshan Ayub) says, 10 audacious guys from across the border did bring Mumbai to her knees on that fateful night in 2008, killing 166 people.

So Daniyal is despatched across continents to find the fanatic four who plotted 26/11. They even whisper to him that, he can `accidentally' kill.

As court-martial led soldier Daniyal, Khan takes the idea of a game face to a whole new level. For all of 147 minutes, he sports precisely one expression, give or take some make up and facial hair. He doesn't move as much as lumber, he is thoroughly indiscreet and everywhere he goes, he sticks out like a sore thumb. If this was because of his good looks, we'd forgive it. But Khan spends the entire film looking both awkward and impassive, as though he's got a hangover and is doing his best to block out the headache.

One can't help but feel that there was hope and a prayer governing the decision to name Katrina Kaif's character Nawaz in Phantom. Sadly, those prayers were not answered. Almost sharing a name with Nawazuddin Siddiqui doesn't ensure the transference of his acting ability. Compared to Khan's one expression, Kaif has none. Whether she's crying over lives lost or reminiscing about having tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel, there's not a hint of emotion to mar her perfect complexion and gorgeous features.

As cinema, this thriller is over-simplified, though the gloss adds to the large-screen appeal. Saif is adept; Kat is pretty appealing (pun on the pretty because her make-up is intact even in the battlefield). Zeeshan and his jingoism in the climax gives you that proud-India moment. And, if you're still licking the wounds of that senseless Mumbai massacre, then Phantom is the balm you should reach out for.

PHANTOM RAISES A TOAST TO THE ANONYMOUS INDIAN BRAVE HEART