Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Taapsee Pannu

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Taapsee Pannu looks gleeful as she makes the triumphant gesture during a film festival at a theatre in Andheri on Thursday. Pic/Satej Shinde

Vir Das' New York calling

After sharing self-made black and white silent films on his Instagram for the past couple of days, Vir Das took to the platform to share some exciting news on the comedy front. Turns out the comedian will be performing at the popular seven-day New York Comedy festival, whose line-up also includes greats like Nicole Byer, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher and Kevin Smith.

"I'm just gonna be honest....I never thought I'd see myself in a line up like this....ever. So if you can see me....I'ma need you to come see me," he wrote to his followers. Here's hoping the town hall will be as bustling for his gig as the venues in this city that have hosted him.

Two greats to take the stage

Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer Mallika Sarabhai will dance alongside contemporary dancer and choreorapher Astad Deboo, who is also trained in Kathak and Kathakali, for the National Centre of Performing Arts' (NCPA) 50 years celebrations.

The performance is part of the Add Art Festival and is scheduled to take place on its opening day i.e. November 29 and tickets have already gone live on the centre's website. With the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee sharing an amalgamation of styles between them, we reckon this will turn out to be quite the collaboration.

A starry affair

Part of the charm around London-based and Indian-born chef Asma Khan - who shot to fame after her dinner club culminated in a lauded restaurant run entirely by women - is her approachability. Despite the fame she gained, Khan continues to post excitedly about people of prominence dropping in at her restaurant.

Whether it's British actor Riz Ahmed, or recently, iconic artiste Asha Bhosle, Khan's excitement is apparent in her posts. The adoration is mutual, for it turns out that Bhosle loved Khan's kosha mangsho, chicken chaap, prawn malaikari and masala chai.

Anarkali moment

Most of us have spotted Sarah Todd in her chef whites or chic western wear, which is why she grabbed eyeballs when she was snapped in an anarkali at the launch of a bar in Delhi recently.

Wearing an off-white one with a pink dupatta, by designer Abhinav Mishra, she says she is a fan of his work. "It's elegant, glamourous and subtle, which suits me perfectly," she told this diarist.

Booked for Jaipur

The Jaipur Literature festival is set to return to Diggi Palace this January, and it has also announced its first list of 25 speakers. These names were also unveiled in a unique fashion - via online engagement with literature enthusiasts who guessed the names of speakers based on clues shared under the hashtag #WordbyWord.

The diverse line-up ranges from American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Greenblatt to British mathematician Marcus du Sautoy. And while city-based musician Shubha Mudgal will also take part, Mumbai-bred Canadian novelist Anosh Irani and Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found will be present, too.

Speaking about the agenda, festival director Namita Gokhale told this diarist, "We will invoke the timelessness of great literature - across cultures, continents and languages. We will also be searching our troubled times, and seeking to understand all that is current and contemporary. Between me and my co-director William Dalrymple we have as ever the most stellar line up in the planet!"

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