Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Ekta Kapoor (centre) with Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma (left) and other actors from her upcoming release at the film's trailer launch yesterday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Lipstick and all smiles
We've heard of instances where filmmakers strive to get a universal rating for their films when the censor board awards them an A. But when Lipstick Under My Burkha reached the Central Board of Film Certification in December last year, the body refused to certify it altogether, for reasons including the fact that it found the film 'ladies-oriented.' The film, however, struck a chord with global audiences, and continued to win awards at various international festivals. After a long-drawn battle, it got an A rating earlier this month. For its trailer launch (also rated A), filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava decided to make the ordeal a part of the creative, by opening it with visuals of articles that appeared about the movie, and also calling it the most controversial film of the year.

Rural sojourn for city kids
It was time out from gadgets and gaming for Mumbai's kids as nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar (inset) took them to her community farming project in Sonave near Palghar recently. A day-long workshop for kids from six to 15 years, it showed them where their food comes from. The children also participated in farming activities like sowing paddy in the fields, planting jamun trees, and even observed how flour is milled. They learnt about the importance of eating right and decoding media messages on food. That was not all. They even sipped on some cool handpump water, and learnt how to apply cowdung on the ground. Isn't that so much better then a trip to the mall?

Challenging stereotypes
After bagging the Cannes Grand Prix Glass Lion for its extraordinary campaign around gender rights and outreach last year, the 6-Pack Band, India's first ever transgender band, is on a roll. It was back in Cannes recently to set the stage on fire at the International Festival of Creativity, also known as the Oscars of advertising. The band, which focuses on the message of inclusiveness, encourages people to break social barriers. Invited to the festival to share their journey towards success, the 6-pack band, performed before some of the biggest names in the entertainment, media and advertising world. The band has found support from the Unstereotype initiative of a leading FMCG player to move advertising away from stereotypical portrayals of gender. Now, that's a step in the right direction.

Shenaz takes the web route
Popularly known as the season of romance, monsoon also calls for monsoon blues where all you might want to do is wear your pyjamas and do some binge-watching on Netflix. So adding another movie to your playlist is Main aur Mr Right, a romantic-comedy starring Barun Sobti, Shenaz Treasury and Kavi Shastri. The film shows how a single casting director (Treasury) hires an aspiring actor (Sobti) to pose as her rich boyfriend from London, and in the process of grooming him is marvelled at his impact on her life.

RD Burman, in sync with today
When RD Burman started making music in the '60s, the country was at war with its neighbours. As he became a household name, we had moved on to another war with Pakistan in 1971. On the maestro's 78th birth anniversary yesterday, some wars, though internal, are still on. Arre - a multimedia entertainment platform - brought this to our notice when it made a note of a number of Burman's songs, which are symbolic of the evils in the country today. For example, they equated the song Pyar Hume Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya with anti-Romeo squads in Uttar Pradesh, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha to the plight of women in Haryana and Bachke Rehna Re Baba to the lynching of humans in the name of cow. "RD Burman might be gone, but he'll never be forgotten. Especially not in the times we live in. Happy Birthday Pancham Da!" they said. Touche!