Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Tough shoes to fill

Trust Sonam Kapoor to set fashion trends at her own wedding. The actor, along with hubby Anand Ahuja and some other members of her family, turned heads with quirky ensembles featuring traditional Indian clothing paired with stylish sneakers.

But this didn't go down too well with comedian Sorabh Pant, who tweeted, "Sonam & Co. wearing sneakers with traditional wear: 'Oh my God - so chic, so suave, so classy, so Milan, so fashion.' I wear sneakers with traditional wear: 'Saala gavar. Thodi toh koshish kar (sic),'" which led us to react with, "We feel you, Sorabh. We really do."

Fantasy come true
A collaboration between some of the city's music hotspots and France's The Fantasy Orchestra has paved the way for a novel experience. For, it isn't everyday that music buffs in the city, which is teeming with indie musicians and packed with live gigs, get to watch a full-blown orchestra in action.

But The Fantasy Orchestra isn't your everyday ensemble of musicians. Instead, they create an unusual synergy between the West and East, with rock 'n' roll of the '60s meeting Bollywood songs from back then. The show will also offer talented musicians in the city a chance to be part of the large-scale production. So if you feel that you fit the bill, sign up to audition for the pop-rock mash-up and symphonic regale, where improvisation matters more than well-rehearsed pieces.

Fully filmy park
The Bollywood mecca it may be, but Mumbai's film folk haven't really given a thought to making a visit to the city an experiential one for its film-crazy pilgrims.

Now, we hear, a Bollywood theme park in Karjat, which has been around since 2002, is doing just that by letting visitors explore model sets of films like Jodhaa Akbar, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Jail, and even dress up as their favourite film stars. We find it a tad touristy, but here's hoping this sets the ball rolling in the right direction.

Ruskin Bond's salute to Lanka
"I receive hundreds of letters, every day; I wish I could read each of them," confessed Ruskin Bond, looking every bit like an octogenarian grandfather, when this diarist met him at his home in Landour a couple of years ago. Turns out it was one such letter from a fan in Sri Lanka that inspired the Sahitya Akademi award winning author to pen a new story, Ranji and the Music Maker.

"It [the story] was inspired by the photograph of a small boy playing his flute for a kitten sent to me by a reader in Sri Lanka. I imagined the little boy as Ranji," says Bond of his newest story. The book will be launched next week, on May 19, on his 84th birthday.

The change we want to see
Unless you've been living the life of a hermit, you would have realised by now that hate-mongering is on the increase across the world, and not just in our country. Be it the trolls who spew venom on social media platforms or the moral police brigade that goes on the rampage at the drop of a hat, tolerance for the opinions of other people is waning by the day. But Creators of Change, a global initiative launched by YouTube, aims to stem the rot that has set in.

The intent is to bring content creators who have made an impact with videos that foster harmony. And this year's list features Prajakta Koli and the Girliyapa gang. Koli made a viral rap song slamming misogyny, while Girliyapa has been making videos on a similar theme for a while now. They are now all set to fly to London for a two-day workshop. Here's hoping that they make a positive change, which the world seems to need.

Snap out of it

Amitabh Bachchan seems lost in thought, mirroring his photograph, at an exhibition that captures his life in frames, at a Lower Parel five-star on Wednesday. Pic/Atul Kamble

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