Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Kamal Haasan

Filmi biggies back a cause
The Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) went through many obstacles when it was set up by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur in 2014. But things have become better with time, what with Christopher Nolan coming down to Mumbai to support the cause.

Now, the FHF's upcoming film preservation and restoration workshop in Kolkata has industry stalwarts, including Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan, backing it. While the latter sent a letter of support, both can now be seen in videos lending heft to the foundation's work. Great going.

A melting gesture for firemen
It's never too late to say thank you to someone who has helped in your hour of need. And on the occasion of World Gratitude Day that was celebrated last week (September 21), students of Infant Jesus School in Malad got their timing spot-on as they decided to express their gratitude to a much ignored uniformed bunch of our city - the fire brigade. The school kids went across to the Malwani Fire Brigade and sang, danced and played with 30-odd firefighters, besides offering each one a small gift as a token of appreciation for their hard work and sacrifice.

Students perform a dance routine for the firefighters

"These firefighters work in emergency situations, and in stressful and dangerous scenarios. We thought of thanking them for their selflessness," said the school's principal, Cecilia D'Souza. "You are our heroes. You may not feel so, but I promise you that there is a little girl or boy out there who looks up to you," Class X student Tisha Suvarna said in a brief speech. And as for the "heroes" themselves, senior fire officer Sanket Naik said, "It's nice to be appreciated by the youngest members of our society." Playing with fire may be unsafe, but playing with firefighters is truly sweet, isn't it?

Picture perfect
It is difficult to capture the many facets of a father-daughter relationship. But if you think an ace photographer like Atul Kasbekar can manage to do so, set some time aside for the first weekend of October to be part of Project Nanhi Kali's fund-raising photo campaign.

Shatrughan and daughter Sonakshi Sinha

Those interested can pay a sum of Rs 6,000, which will be donated for the education of an underprivileged girl, and get clicked by celebrity photographers including Colston Julian, Jaideep Oberoi, Prasad Naik, Rohan Shreshtha and Tarun Khiwal.

Boo says bye to Mumbai
Instagram gives us our fair dose of news, and we were heartbroken to see Chef Boo Kim's post informing that he's stepping away from his potion at seafood haven, Bastian, and planning to return to his home in Chicago. While he didn't respond to our pings, chef and Bastian founder Kelvin Chueng said, "Chef Boo returned home to the US after a busy and productive three years in Mumbai, for personal reasons.

Chef Boo Kim

While the team misses him, he was looking forward to being closer to family again. We aren't currently looking for a replacement. The team will miss Boo's sense of humour and the camaraderie that was developed in the kitchen!" When this diarist had interviewed Boo for the first time in 2015, he had said that he met Kelvin when the latter was a teacher's assistant while Boo was at culinary school at Kendall College, Chicago. The two hit it off and often hung out together. We'll miss you, chef Boo.

A capital idea for a play
Theatre actor and director Yuki Ellias who ventured into Hindi productions with her latest play, Hello Farmaaish, went through quite a journey across India for its research.

Actor Tanvi Lehr Sonigra (left) with a radio programmer from Mewat

Drawing inspiration from women-run community radio stations in India, the script, developed by Ellias and Sneh Sapru, was based on their interaction with the women behind Radio Mewat and Alfaz-e-Mewat in Haryana.

Yuki Ellias

After its successful run in Mumbai, the play was staged in Delhi over the weekend. And in a full circle of sorts, the women from Mewat - or "real-life heroes" as Ellias calls them - came down to Delhi to watch the play. That the crew had done its homework could be seen in how close the actors were in their appearance with their inspiration. "I can't describe how beautiful it was to be together and watch the show," an elated Ellias said.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

Sunny Leone unveils the crown for an upcoming beauty pageant, at an Andheri nightclub on Monday. Pic/Satej Shinde

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