Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

A star and his fans
Ajay Devgn chooses quite a setting for a photo op at the launch of the trailer of his new film in Juhu on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Nothing funny
Election season has reached fever pitch, and various political parties are hurling barbs at each other as if they are tennis balls in a match. But sometimes, the digs that they take don't constitute their own content. And comedian Azeem Banatwalla was recently at the receiving end of this plagiarism, when the youth wing of a political party shared a video of his on its social media page since it suited its purposes. Banatwalla, clearly, wasn't impressed and called out the party publicly for doing the same. He also used the incident to point out that he's not paid by any party for any content. "Credit tak nahi dete [toh] paise kahaan se denge?" he reasoned.

The party moved to Juhu
There's always been a bit of friendly banter between SoBoites and 'burbies about which area rocks as far as the party scene goes. Now, there's a new hub in Juhu's Hotel Sea Princess that claims to shift the balance. Syn, co-owned by Priyank Singh, who was earlier associated with the newly opened Club PHD, is a new nightclub that covers 7,500 sq ft and is spread across two levels.

Interestingly, the space also has a hydraulic DJ console, which will apparently allow DJs to interact with the crowd. We are eager to find out what this is. There's also a deck bar where patrons can make their own drinks, picking from the menu, which has been curated by mixologist Arjun Chaudhary. Speaking about the club, which is due to launch this Thursday, Singh told this diarist, "We are humbled and excited about this as it gives us the opportunity to add something new to Mumbai's entertainment landscape. It has been designed to cater to people looking to hang out after work, catch up with friends or to celebrate."

Banks mob-ilising the money
Gone are the days when we associated banks with the staid and stodgy. Today, the monetary institutions are in the news for all kinds of exciting happenings - financial fugitives and high-profile auctions being some of them. On a different note, we witnessed a flash mob at Bank of Baroda (BoB) that had 30 children dancing to its jingle, Ab Saath Hain Teen. Behtar Se Behtareen. The flash mob took place at Andheri Metro Station earlier this week catching bemused commuters unaware. The idea was to communicate the successful integration of BoB, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank as the new BoB. Like everybody, banks need to keep up with the crimes… oops, we mean, times.

An eye for art
A few days ago, noted theatre director Sunil Shanbag dropped by Bandra's Shroff Eye Hospital and was instantly amused by its signboard. It was painted by MF Husain. "There's a much larger piece by the staircase.

And this is also a colour palette that he loved. We don't really notice these details," Shanbag told this diarist, proceeding to talk about how Husain earned a living in Mumbai by painting signboards and cinema hoardings. Well if anything, the board signifies the heights Husain reached in the world of art - a reminder for those aspiring to be like him.

When Omar threw Gambhir a googly
The idioms around minding one's business are galore, but on a Twitter post, an unlikely pair sparred. On April Fool's Day, cricketer Gautam Gambhir barraged netizens with political banter. "@OmarAbdullah wants a separate PM for J&K & I want to walk on oceans! @OmarAbdullah wants a separate PM for J&K & I want pigs to fly! More than a separate PM @OmarAbdullah needs some sleep followed by a strong coffee! If he still doesn't understand then a green Pakistani passport [sic]," Gambhir jibed, taking pot shots at the politician.

It seemed to us that the batsman thought he was funny until Abdullah hit back. "Gautam, I never played much cricket because I knew I wasn't very good at it. You don't know very much about J&K, its history or the role of @jknc_ in shaping that history yet you insist on displaying that ignorance for all to see. Stick to stuff you know about, tweet about the IPL," Abdullah wrote. And agree or disagree with the situation in the conflict zone, this definitely made you chuckle, too, right?

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