Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Shah Rukh Khan

SRK's heart beats for hockey
In 2007, he stole many hearts as the wronged, ruggedly handsome hockey coach in Chak De! India, and in the bid, strengthened interest in India's national sport. So, it doesn't come as a surprise that Shah Rukh Khan pledged his heartbeat to the sport, as part of the Beats for Hockey campaign in the lead up to the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.

He will also be part of the opening ceremony on November 27. The news came to light through a Twitter banter between captain Manpreet Singh and the actor. The film, however, isn't SRK's only connection with hockey. An ardent fan of the game, he used to play hockey in his school days. He had also once expressed his desire to see his son AbRam to grow up to be a hockey player.

A ray of hope, finally
As idols and famous personalities fall like a pack of cards in wake of the #MeToo movement having hit India, here is some news that we stumbled on that assured us that all's not lost. Casting director Tess Joseph, who is also associated with a spoken word initiative in Mumbai, tweeted yesterday about her experience as the director of a Malayalam quiz show when she was 20.

Derek O'Brien and Tess Joseph

With the entire production unit putting up in a hotel, the show's host and popular actor, and now CPI (M) MLA, Mukesh Kumar called on her room's intercom multiple times, and had her room changed next to his on the next schedule. She spoke to her then boss, quizmaster and now Rajya Sabha MP, Derek O'Brien about this. He got her out of the city on the next flight.

"Nineteen years on, thank you, Derek," she shared. But the issue got politicised with Joseph being questioned about her intention behind sharing the incident. She issued a statement later in the day, saying, "...This is my story not your politics... When this incident happened, Derek only knew the Q of quizzing and his P of politics did not exist."

Medina calling AR
An exchange between Bollywood musicians Adnan Sami and AR Rahman is sending out waves of "awws" online. In it, Sami jokingly remarked that he would need to password-protect his gadgets. The reason being, his three-year-old daughter Medina got hold of his phone and made a video call to veteran musician AR Rahman, who was recording for an upcoming film.

Adnan Sami with son

"My Little Medina took my phone & 'FaceTimed' @arrahman & had a cute chat with him while he was in London [sic]," Sami wrote. To which, Rahman's endearing reply was, "Dear Adnan, her Facetime call fixed my grumpy mood. Thanks Medina. May the Almighty reward you generously."

Not a tall tale
Virat Kohli stands tall among his generation of batsmen. He towers above most of his contemporaries when it comes to batting records. He also scales new heights every year in terms of aggregate runs. But recently, he found himself falling short, literally, in comparison to the height of tennis player Karman Kaur Thandi.

The two were at a promotional event and were asked to pose for the shutterbugs. And here's what the Indian team captain did - he stood on a platform in order to look as tall as six-footer Thandi in the photos. Not a smart move, we'd say, especially when gender equality is such an important subject of the times. What message are you sending out, Virat?

Giving voice to the young
On World Mental Health Day today, a number of conferences, seminars and discussions will be held across Mumbai to create awareness on the subject. And as has been the practice, at the helm of these events will be professionals from the fields of psycho-therapy and psychiatry. But this year, city-based Ummeed Child Development Center (UCDC) will be handing over the reins of this crucial conversation to children and young people who have availed of mental health services at the centre.

"We believe that people we work with are experts of their own lives. And the idea is to give voice to people who have the lived experience [to talk about mental health]," Jehanzeb Baldiwala, director, mental health services, UCDC, told this diarist. While most speakers fall in the age group of 17 to 19 years, a seven-year-old will share her experience with her mother's help.

Wait for me!

Director Gauri Shinde waves at someone during a women's entrepreneurship summit at Shivaji Park on Tuesday. Pic/Atul Kamble

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