Legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright would have been proud of today's Chicago. I took a canal tour from the bridge across the famous Wrigley's building. It was informative and enjoyable, including the guide's asides on the Magnificent Mile closeby. Did I shop there? Yes. But only at Macy's, where I bought some terrific 'jeggings' that saw me through the rest of the long trip.

This appeared in Bombay Times last week...

What Makes Kat the Smartest Actor in Bollywood?

From a ‘Goongi Goodiya’ to a female superstar is no small achievement, especially for a foreigner who did not speak a word of Hindi when she got her Bollywood break. It is really quite an extraordinary story, and one must hand it to Katrina Kaif ( shall we start calling her Kween Kat?) for pulling off a major coup. Today, there is nobody in her league. And not a single person in the extra critical, highly competitive, super bitchy world of Bollywood has anything nasty to say about the desi Barbie Doll. How did she do it? Well, if one discounts the Salman factor, I’d say she’s got to where she has because she happens to be extraordinarily smart! Plus, hardworking, disciplined and pleasant at all times. Had that not been the case would she have been able to juggle her career, all those besotted men in her life, her fans and family…. why her daily routine which by by standards is exceedingly punishing? All this, minus stress , minus tantrums, minus attitude, minus scandal. Managing Salman is in itself a major feat. That she has done so even after the break –up of their intimate relationship ( something she refused to acknowledge publicly) says a lot about her capacity to handle her emotional life very shrewdly displaying rare maturity and grace. It’s amazing and amusing that she kept three guys happy on her birthday eve, with a hop, skip and jump across studios and party venues to greet ( separately, of course) SRK, Salman and possibly Ranbir. Juggler Kat and her jadoo, gasped admirers !Despite years and years of being identified as ‘Salman’s girl’, she stayed miles away from any camp. She cleverly projected herself as a ‘friend of the Khan family’ and was very visible at all the major Khan do’s in the past. To give the entire credit for her success to Salman would be wrong. But this much is true, Salman’s support for any young actress ensures two things – a great break and total protection from other industry wolves. As Salman’s lady love, Katrina had to deal with just one guy – Salman himself. Since nobody wants to mess with this Khan, Kat became instantly out-of-bounds for other heroes circling around for the kill.
She worked strenuously to learn even a few basic sentences in Hindi. Her ‘speech’ in ‘Rajniti’ was nothing short of a triumph. More recently, she managed a few , simple baby sentences in Hinglish for ‘Zindagi…” relying more on her flirtatious chemistry with Hritik Roshan ( the kiss could have lingered some more!). As of now, Super Kat has no rivals. Her personality is a big plus – whether on-screen or off it, Katrina projects a certain wholesomeness that provides a sharp contrast to the other slightly trashy, definitely fixed up rivals. And those girls can actually act!! Good one, Katrina