DUBAI: The Michelin Guide will make its debut in Qatar next month, with a launch ceremony scheduled for Dec. 12 at Katara Hall, Raffles Doha.
It will mark the first time restaurants in the Qatari capita have been recognized by the prestigious culinary guide.
International director Gwendal Poullennec said: “The Michelin Guide, renowned for its meticulous and independent reviews of dining establishments, has been exploring Doha’s vibrant culinary scene.
“Our famously anonymous inspectors have thoroughly reviewed the city’s top eateries, from the bustling Corniche to the luxurious hotels and diverse restaurants representing cuisines from around the world. We are delighted to finally announce the Michelin Guide’s arrival in Doha.”
To mark the event, an exclusive cocktail reception will feature guest chefs presenting signature dishes and demonstrating their expertise. These will include representatives of Alleno Paris, awarded three stars in the 2024 Michelin Guide France; Jordnaer, which holds three stars in this year’s Nordics guide; and BO Innovation, which is recognized with two stars in the 2024 Hong Kong guide.
No quitting: Bollywood’s Aamir Khan wants to keep acting
Khan has helped shape Indian cinema for years, becoming one of Bollywood’s most popular actors
During Covid-19 pandemic, the superstar and filmmaker considered quitting cinema for good
Updated 1 min 36 sec ago
AFP
LONDON: During the Covid-19 pandemic, Bollywood superstar and filmmaker Aamir Khan considered quitting cinema for good after dominating the Indian film industry for more than four decades.
“It was in the middle of Covid and I was... thinking of a lot of things, and I suddenly felt that I had spent all of my adult life in this magical world of cinema,” Khan told AFP in London, draped in a heavy purple shawl and sporting a handlebar moustache.
He is not wrong, having helped shape Indian cinematic culture for years, becoming one of Bollywood’s most popular actors.
He has amassed a formidable oeuvre of Hindi-language films, including “Lagaan,” nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars in 2002, as well as movies such as “3 Idiots,” “Dangal” and “Taare Zameen Par” (Like Stars on Earth).
Starting as a child actor in the 1970s and synonymous with Bollywood ever since, Khan realized he had “not really given the kind of bandwidth to my personal life that I would have liked to.”
“The realization that I’ve lost all that time was something that I was finding difficult to come to terms with and I was going through a lot of guilt... My knee-jerk reaction to that was that I’ve had enough of film,” Khan said.
However, his family, including two children, eventually convinced him not to retire. “In my head, I quit. And then I didn’t,” said Khan.
Now, turning 60 in March, Khan, who lives in Mumbai, wants to “continue to act and produce for some time.”
He also wants to use his company Aamir Khan Productions “as a platform to encourage new talent... whose sensibility is close to mine. And (who) want to tell stories which affect me.”
One of those stories was “Lost Ladies,” a Hindi-language comedy about two young brides, which he co-produced with his ex-wife Kiran Rao and was recently promoting in London.
It was released this year, becoming India’s entry for the Oscars foreign film category.
Khan and Rao’s partnership on “Lost Ladies” began when Khan spotted its script at a screenwriting competition which he was judging, leading him to suggest that Rao direct the film.
“I like to react organically to material that comes my way. I feel that a film should begin with the writer, the thought,” Khan said.
“I like that the story should emerge from the writer and then, as a producer or as an actor, I come in at the right time, when I deserve to,” he added.
Many of his films touch on social issues in India, from women’s rights in rural areas and the sports industry, to the toxic culture in higher education and disability rights.
However, Khan has refused to be boxed into just one type of movie or role.
“I’m happy to jump genres and, experiment with different kinds of stories. I like to surprise myself and my audience.”
He is also not afraid to admit slip-ups, and has been vocal about his disappointment with his last performance in “Laal Singh Chaddha.”
The 2022 Indian adaptation of Tom Hanks’s “Forrest Gump” was a rare blip in the otherwise glowing critical reception of Khan’s work.
“I’m not really happy with my last performance, actually,” said Khan, adding that he thought he was too high-pitched in the role.
“I hope this one’s better,” he said of his upcoming film “Sitaare Zameen Par,” which he says is a “thematic” sequel to “Taare Zameen Par,” a drama about special needs education.
Despite winning dozens of Indian film awards as well as India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, Khan still grounds his idea of success in the film itself.
“Filmmaking is very difficult... telling a story through so many art forms which come together to form cinema,” he said.
“So when I look at the film that we’ve made, and then I look at the script that we set out with, (I ask): has the film reached where we thought it would?“
“And if we’ve reached where we wanted to, and we’ve made the film that we set out to, then it’s a big relief.”
Review: ‘Maria’ rests on the shoulders of the superb Angelina Jolie
Updated 16 min 47 sec ago
Gautaman Bhaskaran
JEDDAH: One of the most fascinating movies I watched at the recent Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, “Maria” may not have inched up to reach its great height had it not been for lead star Angelina Jolie. Jolie superbly plays the legendary Maria Callas, a Greek soprano who made Paris her home. The audience is introduced to her a week before her death on Sept. 16, 1977. Frail and pacing up and down her living room, she collapses, and the movie is rewound seven days before her end.
Like so many celebrities, who came before and after her, Maria leads a wretched life of excesses and miserable loneliness. Director Pablo Larrain’s third biopic after “Jackie” (on Jacquline Kennedy) and “Spencer” (on Princess Diana), the film hardly takes us outside her palatial mansion in the French capital that soon begins to feel like a golden cage. Imprisoned of her own will, Maria’s life spirals towards an anticipated end.
We are told how she had travelled a torturous journey from the slums of Nazi-occupied Athens to the European and American concert halls in a narrative that is interspersed with an affair with the Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis.
Though Larrain makes his film seem almost eventless — we follow along as Maria navigates her apartment or wanders through the bourgeoisie neighborhoods of Paris — we sense a storm gathering in a distance as she sinks into self-destruction.
The Chilean work may not have been so compelling had it not been for the exceptional portrayal of Maria by Jolie, who disappears into the character with ease and conviction. She is faultless as an epitome of tragedy and sorrow and this makes the movie eminently watchable.
Bella Hadid praises ‘Yellowstone’ cast after cameo appearance
Updated 17 December 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: US Palestinian Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid took to social media to thank the cast and crew of hit TV series “Yellowstone” after she made a cameo appearance on the Paramount show in December.
On Monday, Hadid posted a carousel of behind-the-scenes photos from her time on set and captioned the post: “Best crew, best cast, best horses, best brains. grateful to have been in the presence of — and learn a lifetime's worth of knowledge in a few days from — the most brilliant of people! I could have been cast as a fly on the wall and would have been just filled with gratitude to be on a set like this for the last season of a show I love so deeply!”
The show, which premiered in 2018, follows a family who own the largest ranch in America as they deal with their internal conflicts and fend off encroachers to protect their property.
The neo-Western show stars Kevin Coster — who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton in 2023 — and Kelly Reilly, whom Hadid thanked in her social media post.
“Thank you, Kelly for being such an inspiring mentor for our few days together. Helpful, beautiful, kind, talented and caring. She really is that great and bad***, guys!”
Hadid plays Sadie, who is the girlfriend of Taylor Sheridan’s character, Travis Wheatley.
“Thank you, Taylor for everything, having faith in me and the opportunity,” Hadid noted in her Instagram post of Sheridan, who is also the show’s director.
Hadid is quickly cementing her status in the rodeo world and earlier this month she was named the National Cutting Horse Association’s 2024 Limited Age Event Rookie of the Year, an award that was celebrated by her partner Adan Banuelos, who is a celebrated cutting champion and horseman.
Cutting is an equestrian competition in which a horse and rider work to demonstrate the horse's athleticism and ability to handle cattle in front of a panel of judges.
Jay Winborn, executive director of the US’s National Cutting Horse Association, praised Hadid in a released statement. “Her hard work in and out of the show pen is evident,” he stated. “When she is not competing, she cheers enthusiastically for her fellow cutting competitors and avidly supports the sport of cutting. We look forward to seeing her talent and passion for the sport, as well as her bond with equine athletes, continue to grow and flourish.”
Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa: ‘Colors awaken something in my soul’
The Bahraini artist and politician talks creativity, culture, and colors
Updated 17 December 2024
Lama Al-Shethry
RIYADH: “Art is a driver for creativity and beauty,” Bahraini artist Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, CEO of the Nuwah Foundation, said in an interview with the region’s leading Arabic lifestyle magazine for women, Sayidaty, for its December cover story to mark Bahrain’s National Day.
Among other topics, including her own artistic process, the conversation covered the role that cultural institutions can play in boosting knowledge, raising awareness of history, and stimulating creativity — all ways of assisting the advancement of society. Aside from her work with the Nuwah Foundation — which, according to its website, “empowers changemakers that illuminate our collective future … (to build) a creative, healthy and prosperous society in the Middle East and North Africa” — Sheikha Hala has also developed a wide range of programs, including “Food is Culture,” as well as documentaries as part of the Oral History Project. She also contributed to preserving intangible heritage and took part in Bahrain’s Artist in a School initiative.
Sheikha Hala spoke about the role that cultural institutions can play in boosting knowledge. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)
Sheikha Hala stated that her passion for the arts was inherited from her mother, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa — a prominent figure in the regional cultural scene and the daughter of a senior member of the Bahraini royal family — who, she said, taught her that history fuels perceptions of the present and that historians can feed museums’ contemporary insights and the way societies are presented through their artistic heritage.
“I belonged to the world of art from a young age; it has always been my inspiration and an integral part of who I am,” Sheikha Hala said. “Fine art and colors have the greatest impact in my heart — they awaken something in my soul. And culture is part of the vibrant fabric of any society. Our heritage — its beauty and diversity — constitutes all parts of my identity.
“I am truly grateful for my family’s support — it is one of the most important foundations for building self-confidence and motivating people to pursue their dreams,” she continued. “My parents are my biggest supporters, and because of them I was able to study art at university. For the record, none of them objected to me entering this field.”
Sheikha Hala advises young artists to draw inspiration from culture, local identity, and personal experiences. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)
Art has always been a vital part of self-expression for Sheikha Hala. “Art, for me, translates the psychological state surrounding me. In many instances, it’s anxiety that generates an important painting,” she said. She elaborates on this thought on her website, where she has written: “While painting I am in a turbulent state of tension — the making of art has never been a harmonious exercise for me.”
Sometimes, she told Sayidaty, the driving force behind a piece is a specific message. “In many of my works, there are distinct messages, such as the subject of the gargoor — a traditional fishing tool — which repeatedly appeared in many pieces I worked on. There’s also the theme of war, displacement, and the use of boats to transport people from one place to another in search of a better and safer life,” she said. The latter is seen particularly in her series “Fate.”
Sheikha Hala is one of many women from prominent Gulf families patronizing and promoting the arts through various initiatives. “Gulf women have made an obvious mark on our society. In the artistic and cultural arena, for example, there are women who, through their education and passion, have started a clear renaissance and we are proud of their creativity,” she told Sayidaty. “I see in (today’s women) the continuity of their grandmothers’ and family’s past. I think modern Gulf women took the most beautiful legacy, and worked on communicating their countries’ identities to the world.”
Sheikha Hala has worked on developing a wide range of programs, including “Food is Culture,” as well as documentaries as part of the Oral History Project. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)
Part of this communication, she stressed, is informing the public about the region’s artistic and cultural history. “I believe that the Arab identity is present in the mind of this generation’s artists,” she said. “However, I regret to say that we tend to resort to foreign languages when we speak and write as an easier path to expression, and we forget the depth and importance of maintaining our identity through our Arabic language. I really hope that the new generation of artists will go back to this rich language and take pride in it, so it can withstand the challenges of globalization.” She cited the words of the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi when he wrote about Arabic: “He who filled languages with charms, instilled beauty and its secret into the Arabic language.”
Sheikha Hala also offered further advice to young creatives. “Always open the door to knowledge, listen to every new idea, and draw inspiration from their culture, local identity, and personal experiences,” she said. “This ensures that the work is genuine and carries a part of who you are. Every artist has their own language of expression, but when presenting an art piece, their message must be profound and carry something unique to them.
“The challenge faced by any artist is to be true to their art — to present work that stirs emotions and creates a unique imprint,” she continued. “This is the biggest challenge.”
DUBAI: Part-Arab model Shanina Shaik turned heads in sculptural bubble dress at the National Gallery of Victoria Gala this weekend in Melbourne, Australia.
The Australia-born model — who is of Saudi, Pakistani and Lithuanian descent — made headlines for her unique dress, which she showed off at the opening of the gallery’s landmark Yayoi Kusama exhibition.
The tartan gown was created by emerging Melbourne-based designer Jarrod Reid. It featured puffed sleeves, eyelets down the front, and what looked like two inflated rings on top of each other at the hem.
The model told Mercedes-Benz in a video clip that the gown was “inspired by Scottish folklore.”
Featuring 200 works and spanning the 80-year career of the iconic Japanese artist, the exhibition includes sculpture, painting, collage, fashion and films, as well as the global premiere of Kusama’s new infinity mirror room artwork titled “My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light.”
The exhibition also includes the Australian debut of “Dancing Pumpkin,” 2020, a five-meter-tall yellow-and-black polka-dotted sculpture.
“Do you mind if I brag?” Wayne Crothers, the NGV’s senior curator of Asian art, told The Guardian in an interview regarding the show’s scale and artworks. While there have been other shows by the artist staged with “about 20 or 30 more works,” this is the biggest ever in terms of scale, the newspaper reported.
The 95-year-old artist is one of the world's most celebrated living creatives — she has her own five-storey gallery in Tokyo and is arguably as recognizable as her work. A giant inflatable sculpture of her was recently perched on the side of Louis Vuitton’s flagship store in Paris.
Shaik told Mercedes-Benz in the sponsored video that she is looking forward to taking her son Zai Adesuyan Matthew, whom she shares with partner Matthew Adesuyan, to the show.
In May, the model took part in her first International Mother’s Day campaign with her toddler, who was born in September 2022.
“Motherhood has changed me in so many ways… it’s definitely created more patience,” Shaik joked in the video campaign that she shared with her 3.4 million followers on Instagram.
“Now that I’m a mother, I would like to say to my mother, ‘I understand.’ I understand the worry, the concern, because you just want to protect your child every day at all costs,” she added.
