Cause and effect

Actors are increasingly walking the talk, adopting causes they espouse in their personal lives. Here’s looking at the Bollywood brigade’s dedicated bunch.

Green with Pride:
Abhay Deol, who is known for his unconventional roles, has decided to go green by turning his dream house into an eco-friendly project.

The actor, who graced the cover of the first Green Life magazine, aims to have a house that will have an environmentally-sustainable design and boast of eco-friendly features like solar panels, rainwater harvesting and a waste- management system.
It seems like Abhay is following the footsteps of Hollywood actors like Johnny Depp who converted his 35-acre Bahamas home to a solar-hydrogen powered unit and Cate Blanchett who spent a whopping 1.5 million to give a green makeover to her mansion.

Blogging it Up:
A decade ago, Lisa Ray shot to fame as the light-eyed beauty who set pulses racing with her sizzling act in the Garden Vareli ad and the music video of late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Aafreen aafreen. But in 2009, the actor proved there’s much more to her than her looks.

Ray chose to go on an open forum and disclose that she was afflicted with myeloma, a rare form of bone-marrow cancer, thereby urging other people to come out in the open and share similar stories. The brave actress informed everyone that she would like to use her celebrity status to draw public attention to the technological advances that are being made in the treatment of myeloma.

Over the last two years, she has successfully battled the disease. In 2010, the Fortis Lisa Ray Award for Conquering Cancer was instituted in her name that would be awarded to a cancer survivor who has conquered the deadly disease with confidence.

Fuel Flair:
Akshaye Khanna is known for keeping a low profile and let his work speak for him. He made news few years ago when he ordered a customised electric car - REVA.

Khanna decided to do his bit for the environment by opting for this vehicle that is carbon dioxide-emission free. Abroad, Hollywood actors like Alicia Silverstone, Edward Norton and Cameron Diaz also flaunt their non-polluting green cars.

Closer home, Salman Khan opts for a bicycle rather than a flashy vanity van to reach the sets. Though the beefy actor claims that it helps him keep fit, we are quite impressed with his efforts to conserve energy unlike his contemporaries who waste electricity thanks to the various amenities in their gigantic vans.

A Personal Space:
His chocolate boy looks and filmi lineage created a palpable curiosity about Imran Khan when he first made his debut three years ago.

Since then apart from acting in a string of films, the young actor has been in the news for his association with social causes. He sent women in a tizzy when he became a part of theatre stalwart Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal’s path-breaking play The Vagina Monologues, proceeds of which went to victims of domestic violence and other causes that Khan felt strongly about.

The actor had earlier admitted at the Screen Big Picture in 2009, “If I do something for a cause, it is not as a celebrity but as a person.” He had also confessed that he is particular about switching off lights and turning off taps at his home.
Taking his concern for conservation of energy a step ahead, he is now planning to renovate his Mumbai residence. Apart from a manicured lawn, a swimming pool and a theatre, the major highlights of his revamped house will be a windmill and eco-friendly tiles. It’s a known fact that windmills help to generate electricity without contributing to global warming. Looks like Imran might soon inspire everyone else in tinseltown to go green.

Sleeping Beauty:
Vidya Balan, who received flak for her fashion sense and buxom figure, would likely attribute her weight loss to a strict diet and exercise regime, right? No, it is quite the opposite.

Her fans were in for a surprise when she confessed that the right sleeping pattern was the secret of her new-found vigour.

Vidya, who is the brand ambassador for the Sleep Awareness Month, revealed that she had been suffering from insomnia since she was 12 and would not go to sleep before 3 am. But realisation dawned on her only three years ago when despite working hard she was unable to shed off the kilos.

After approaching a dietician, she learnt that her irregular sleeping hours were the main cause. “I always felt that sleep was a waste of time and was fascinated with stories about Shah Rukh Khan and how he slept merely four hours. I was encouraged to follow him,” recalled the star, who, after realising why they call it ‘beauty sleep’, has started sleeping for six hours while she’s shooting and eight to nine hours when she’s not.