October 27, 2002

Surrounded by toddlers

Spied recently at a children’s show with a totally bewildered took on his face, Arshad Mahmood, the composer whose mind is busy composing tunes most of the time, found himself judging a contest on who the healthiest baby was at the Forum. Asked what he was doing in such an out-of-place event, he sighed and said he had no idea. He had received a call from the organizers and didn’t have the heart to refuse them and later found himself surrounded by cherubic little faces — some distorted with loud crying — and eager, proud parents ready to swear that their child was the best.

Apart from being a multi-talented artist, Arshad Mahmood also possesses a heart of gold apparently. —A.F

Face-off

Patricia Heaton still isn’t naming names, exactly, but she is begging the pardon of fellow actress Michelle Pfeiffer after suggesting on TV that the 44-year-old star had a face-lift.

Heaton told David Letterman that a “very famous actress” on the “cover of a big fashion magazine” was denying she’d had any nips or tucks — even though Heaton claimed to have interviewed the actress’ plastic surgeon. Pfeiffer happens to be on the cover of the new Harper’s Bazaar, where she talks about her fear of plastic surgery and Botox treatments.

Heaton said she was just trying to be funny. “In an attempt at being humorous, I made statements regarding an actress and plastic surgery that were completely fabricated,”. She added that it is “erroneous” to construe she was talking about Pfeiffer. “I have since spoken with Michelle, and she has very graciously accepted my apology,” said Heaton. Pfeiffer’s spokeswoman seemed satisfied with the apology, but warned “this is serious. I don’t want this to just be a joke that went awry.” —Rush and Molloy

Canned heat

There’s more trouble for Nyla, the Manhattan restaurant owned by Britney Spears on E. 41st St. The pop star’s 3-month-old venture was cited by the New York City Health Department this summer for violating guidelines that prohibit “swollen, leaking, severely rusted” canned food. It was also cited for failing to display the required Food Protection Certificate and for placing contaminated fruit in a bottle of Johnnie Walker, according to papers posted on thesmokinggun.com.

“Generally, these types of violations can incur a fine between $100 and $2,000 per violation and typically tend to be the types of violations that are remedied right on the spot,” a Health Department spokesman told us. But a Nyla rep assured us, “the summons was taken care of. If it wasn’t taken care of, we’d be shut down,” he said.

Her restaurant woes aren’t crimping Britney’s shopping habits. Though Donatella Versace may be in charge of her fashion conversion from pop tart to grown-up diva, she strayed into Patricia Field’s store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighbourhood. —Rush and Molloy

On the wagon

A very appropriately named magazine was launched recently. Titled Brandwagon it is the third in its field, the other two being Aurora and Slogan. Its purpose, says Mennan Rodericks, the head of Shamrock which has published this newsletter, is to cater to its limited clientele and at the same time keep an eye on the products as multinationals tend to go overboard with their ad campaigns. To liven up the serious side of the magazine it has little humorous pieces and sketches for the readers, says its editor Benish.

The layouts are neat and colourful with a lot of information in most of the write-ups. Brandwagon is affiliated with a Hong Kong based magazine called Building Brands. A pleasant addition in the media world, one hopes that the editorial team continues with the standard which is obvious in the first edition. —K.H