Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Sameer Markande

All lined up for Lara
A row of photographers ready to snap up Lara Dutta Bhupathi and her daughter Saira before they stepped in for a film screening yesterday.

Maria Goretti poses in front of an auto rickshaw in a Goan restaurant

Maria Goretti is on auto pilot
The omnipresent humble three-wheeler that for many differentiates the suburbs from SoBo, is now a common motif in quirky art installations and trinkets. Stripped of its usual black and yellow colours, this hot pink auto rickshaw that makes up the decor of a cool Goan restaurant caught Maria Goretti's fancy when she was recently holidaying in the sunshine state. Dressed in a matching gown, she didn't miss the opportunity to pose against it. "Pink makes me happy," said the actress turned cook show host.

(From left) Comedian Ashish Shakya, Mallika and Vinod Dua. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Family matters with Vinod and Mallika Dua
It was an interesting blend of journalism and comedy when actor and comic Mallika Dua shared the stage with father Vinod Dua, the veteran political commentator. Joined by AIBâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088members for a discussion called Family Matters, the panelists spoke about being in similar professions as family members. The panel discussion was part of The Coalition, a two-day festival where biggies from the world of films, start-ups, publishing, music and comedy came together to fuel the next wave of creative ventures in India.

Gaggan Anand

Chef Gaggan's Tardeo connect
When an international chef whose restaurant repeatedly features in Asia's 50 Best list picks a vegetarian place as his favourite restaurant in Mumbai, you know it's doing something right. Recently, Gaggan Anand was all praise for Tardeo's popular Gujarati haunt Swati Snacks, saying he misses its great, value-for-money food and warm service.

A platter of snacks from the restaurant

The Bangkok-based chef also has his trivia in place like the restaurant's unchanged ice cream recipe since inception. He visits the place every time he is in the city not just for nostalgic bites but also for culinary inspiration. His latest muse? The restaurant's bajra and paneer pizza. And when a flight to Mumbai just for a paanki doesn't seem too feasible, he relies on foodie friends coming to Thailand to get some of the delicious fare. Some love, that!

A screen grab from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet

With a little help from Hollywood
Over the weekend, stand-up comedian Vir Das took to Twitter to post a still of The Capulets from Baz Luhrmann's 1996 Romeo + Juliet, a modern adaptation of the Shakespearean classic where Juliet's family members were portrayed as gun-totting mafia.

Vir Das

What had us smirking was the tongue-in-cheek caption, 'Anti Romeo Squad', clearly directed towards UP CM Yogi Adityanath's move of forming anti-Romeo squads to check harassment of women in public spaces.

(From left) Rajeev Raja, Taufiq Qureshi and Louiz Banks. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Mix n' match
To strengthen cultural relations between the UK and India, British Council launched a web portal, Mix The City, over the weekend. Created by British Art Rock outfit Django Django, the digital platform, contains original compositions by Mumbai-based musicians Taufiq Qureshi, Sivamani and Louiz Banks. It travels to New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai next to showcase the diversity of sound in India.