Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Ladies first
Director Akarsh Khurana tells actor Mithila Palkar to step forward for the shot as South star Dulquer Salman looks on. Pic/Satek Shinde

Saraswati on song
In the last few years, science has repeatedly been derided on public platforms in India by those in positions of power. Whether it's the infamous statements made at the annual sessions of the Indian Science Congress, or Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh's discrediting of Darwin's theory of evolution, the suspension of disbelief seems to have gone a bit too far.

This en masse disregard for science forms the basis of Searching for Saraswati, India's first op-doc, a forum for short, opinionated documentaries by independent filmmakers and artists for the New York Times. Made by Mumbai-based award-winning filmmakers Shirley Abraham and Amit Mahadeshiya, the film revolves around the 2015 incident, where government-employed workers dug the villages of Haryana in search of the mythical river Saraswati. The recently released film has created quite a stir, and for the right reasons. Our congratulations to the filmmakers.

That 70s Shabana
Shabana Azmi took us back in time by sharing an image of her on Twitter a few days ago. It shows Azmi grinning with her then classmate, Neelam Mehra in front of the Jaykar Bungalow hostel in 1971. Azmi - who we think looks lovely in the photograph - said she was thrilled to have stumbled on this "precious frame".

A jubiliant Croatian team after a goal is scored. Pic/AFP

Saluting Croatia's sporting tradition
Amid all the not-so-expert commentary on the World Cup that's making the rounds on most of our social media feeds, Varun Gandhi made a pertinent point. Stressing on Croatia's stellar performance despite being a sparsely populated country that has been plagued with war for years, Gandhi wrote, "It makes me wonder what our nation could have achieved if we left sport to sportsmen and professional sports administrators, instead of politicians and bureaucrats."

Ironically though, Olympian gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra turned the question back when he commented, "Why don't you be an advocate for a much needed sports legislation?" Hmmm. We are waiting to see if Gandhi will react.

Sounds like Colombo
It might still be a while before the country's live concert itinerary gets truly rocking, but if you're itching to catch up with some heady, groovy live acts, we've got some good news.

In fact, it's neatly packaged into a one-day music fest in neighbouring Sri Lanka. Called the Colombo Music Festival, it is touted as the island nation's largest such celebration. Scheduled for mid-August, this edition will have a Caribbean Night theme, and one can expect the likes of Diana King, Shaggy, Maxi Priest and Big Mountain give music buffs of the genre much to shake and move into the morning. Yeah, baby!

Desi cine vibe in Melbourne
Given the formidable force that Indian cinema is, films made in the country not only travel to international festivals, but also have festivals dedicated to them in other countries. The US hosts a few of them, as does Stuttgart, and soon, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will be have its seventh edition in the Australian city. To be held in August, the jury for the 13-day event has been announced and features names including veteran actor Simi Garewal, filmmaker Nikhil Advani as well as noted names from Australia's film and television industry. The theme for 2018 is inclusion, and will see participation from Bollywood box office hits, documentaries and indie films.

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