Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Fit hai toh hit hai
Actors Harshvardhan Kapoor and Esha Gupta sweat it out during the preview of a clothing brand's Fall/Winter collection, at a Mahalaxmi venue on Friday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Aretha Franklin wows the crowd, including the Obamas, at the Kennedy Centre in 2009

Natural wonder
One of the most astonishing things about Aretha Franklin was how, like wine, her voice became even better with time. There was evidence of this at a concert at the Kennedy Centre in the White House in 2009, where she moved Barack Obama to tears.

Vasundhara Vee

And, city vocalist Vasundhara Vee, too, thinks that was her strongest performance. "I wish to be able to keep that standard of consistency and growth in my voice as I grow older," she tells this diarist, adding, "We need to pay tribute and homage now by daring to be graceful and honest the way she was." Amen.

Family matters
Travels the world in her private jet, check. Attends every major fashion show and party on the planet, check. Has A-list BFFs, check. Socialite Natasha Poonawalla's IG (Instagram) account has all of the above and then some. Apart from putting up snapshots capturing her enviable day-to-day luxe escapades, she mixes in feeds about her husband Adar Poonawalla's (the 10th richest Indian on the Forbes Rich List) philanthropic work.

Yesterday, however, was a special #famjam treat for her 310 IG followers. Reminiscent of a Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham-style family portrait, the missus posted a photograph of her father-in-law Cyrus Poonawalla, husband and her two adorable kids, Cyrus, 8, and Darius, 2, with a note: "Happy Parsi New Year from us to you. #familia".

Nothing Childish about this song
Rapper Childish Gambino's recent smash-hit, This is America, was a brutal takedown of the manner in which African-Americans are treated in the US. The video for the track was an even more pointed commentary on the situation there. And, now, an Indian comedy group has taken a leaf out of Gambino's book and released a spoof called This is Hindustan. The lyricist for it has pulled out all stops while attacking the present dispensation. Here's a sample line: "This is Hindustan/ Lynch mobs rukenge kab/ Extremists ka hain yeh club/ Din achhe hoge kab/ Corruption ka hain yeh hab." So it must be said that it's a gutsy effort given the prevailing socio-political climate.

Look who's a writer
Model-turned-actor Gautam Kapur aka Gomzee wears many hats these days. And he can now add the word "author" to his bio as well. For, Kapur has recently released a book called Don't be Fooled, which is meant to dish out simple advice to boost one's health. But here's the problem: the text is riddled with grammatical mistakes, as is evident in the line, "The point of all the above is that alternative has been provided to make making a lifestyle changes an easy decision." Yes, we, too, are scratching our heads about that one.

Work in progress at Hustle. Pic/Atul Kamble

Where's the party in SoBo?
"I am not a very social person," says Bhavesh Sheth, a Mumbai-based investment banker who is helming Hustle, a bar set to open its doors to party-goers in mid-September, located at Opera House and bang opposite one of the city's favourite music hotspots. With no previous background in the F&B industry, and a career that is far removed, how did Sheth end up owning a bar, we wonder.

Bhavesh Sheth

"I was travelling with my friend, Ashish Kothari, in New York and he planted the seed in my head. He loves to party and I had the property. So, we thought we'll use the space for a bar that will concentrate on cocktails and shots," Sheth shares. He is also bringing in a top mixologist from Dubai, Pramod Panwar, and claims he's associated with a big chain, whose name he can't disclose. But we don't care, because this bar holds the promise of the ultimate post-gig after-party and a new haunt for SoBo.

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