Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Jean Pool
Akshay Kumar with daughter Nitara, wife Twinkle Khanna and son Aarav (partially hidden) were spotted outside a Juhu multiplex in identical ripped denims.

Peace it together
At a time when the world is fraught with strife, what better than for Indian Classical music to spread the message of peace? Next month, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and sons, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash will head to Singapore to play at a concert for harmony. And this tour is just one of many jetsetting experiences that the sarod-siblings have embarked on recently. They performed in Dhaka and also flew to New York to meet producer-composer Karsh Kale for an album set to release soon. Now, that's what we call living out of a suitcase.

What's wrong with Mumbai?
There are so many things wrong with this picture from Bandra that comedienne Radhika Vaz shared, we don't know where to begin. In a city starved of open spaces, we can't find much sense in spelling out the difference between a garden and playground to children.

Also, as Vaz pointed out, "there is no child on this earth that would mistake this dump for a playground."

I'm unsexy and I know it
With wit and eloquence, this Mumbai-based rapper from Chennai has taken on the internet with her humorous videos on social issues. Sofia Ashraf recently released a video titled, I can't do sexy. From facial hair to 'looking like Harry Potter' in specs, Ashraf underlines all her 'flaws' and embraces them with this self-deprecating song. She is unapologetic and her lyrics, relatable. Ashraf is happy to have dug one more nail in the coffin of the dogma that women can't be funny. Her previous videos have been about the advantages of having acne and Indian euphemisms for pregnancy.

Mixed media for Arnab
Social media promos can be amusing, but when it's Arnab Goswami announcing his comeback, expect something zanier. Riding on his 2014 interview with Rahul Gandhi, the TV journalist is seen writing a letter, addressed to the Congress vice president. "...It's been a while. I missed you through the election season. I thought it was a good time to let you know Mr Gandhi that I am coming back..."(sic) read the subtitles. But this being a platform where others are allowed to express their views, there have been several responses to the promo. While many, including journalists, asked Goswami if he would run the same ad naming people from the ruling party, we particularly enjoyed comedian-actor Vir Das's take. "I see that you've been taking videos of written letters that you post with more writing on social media...It just seems like a very complicated usage of three simple communication mediums..." Interesting observation, this.

Vikas Khanna and Heston Blumenthal. Pic/AFP

Junoon, Utsav and more?
The multi-faceted super chef Vikas Khanna can safely add one more feather to his chef hat. US-based news publication, Gazette Review has included him among the Top 10 Chefs in the World for 2017. Khanna was in a list that read like a who's-who of power chefs from across the world - Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver. His profile, however, was a curiously worded one. It went on to hail his NYC restaurant Junoon but then skipped all his other culinary achievements to only mention him as the chef behind the world's most expensive cookbook - Utsav that cost $13,000 and took 12 years to make. While Khanna was mighty chuffed on social media with his inclusion in this prestigious list, we're not sure if the profile did justice to his culinary craft and accolades. Just saying.