Whew! He is as hot as we imagined! Akshay Kumar made his date with Verve at 6.00 a.m. and star power notwithstanding he was there, just a half hour late. We applaud this new professionalism in Bollywood. (Shall we ignore the fact that his stylist was in only at 8.00 a.m.) “Akshay is very very clear about what he wants,” says Verve stylist, Aalika Mahindra. “He had us completely re-arrange the room at the Leela because he wanted the couch near the window. He made sure that it was placed there!” Did we say something about the new professionalism? Yes, we love it! Aalika adds: “And, he is that good looking too!”

We love our fantastic fashion pages! A preview of this year’s India Fashion Week’s must-have summer outfits and a special shoot inspired by our flower of choice, the rose. Ace photographers, Colston Julian, Atul Kasbekar and Israr Qureshi wielded their cameras to perfection, as the models answered to their every whim. Colston and Atul conquered vertiginous heights to get their desired shot, while Israr’s airconditioned studio provided the Verve team with some much-needed respite after two days in the blazing sun. The three models worked their magic in front of the lens, the end result, stunning. If we may say so ourselves!