Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Comedy special
Our weekday chilling plans are sorted. To deal with the dreary weather, we will be getting our laughs from comedian Aditi Mittal's Netflix special, Things They Wouldn't Let Me Say. The one-hour show, we hear, has Mittal talk about being single, wearing thongs and the awkwardness of Indian movie ratings. The trailer itself is hilarious, with jokes on sex education, Punjabis and Mittal's iconic character Dr Mrs Lutchuke talking about how 'love-making is like the sugar syrup in the gulab jamun at Mrs Basundi's son's wedding...sometimes it is juicy and you can enjoy it and sometimes, even if there are two balls in front of you, everything is dry'. The comedian is certainly going places - next month, she makes her debut at Edinburgh's Soho Theatre, with Global Village Idiot.

Pic/Datta Kumbhar

The father-son shootout
Shatrughan Sinha and son Luv (right, in blue) were spotted at a convocation ceremony in Bandra, yesterday; the father took the dais with Subhash Ghai, while the son tried to capture the moment.

Birthday cuddles for PeeCee
Actor Priyanka Chopra celebrated her birthday yesterday, and among the flood of wishes on social media was one from her adorable pooch, Diana. The post read: "A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the mother of doggos, my protector and to the BEST MOMMY in the world!... Thank you for teaching me to reach for the stars... and the last piece of cookie, coz #FoodIsLife."

The birthday wish was posted on Diana's Instagram account, which has over 22,000 followers, and is reportedly managed by PeeCee herself. Which, funnily enough, means the actor all but used her dog to call herself "the best". Then again, not everyone is famous enough to get away with it.

Look who's posing with Wendell
Recently, the who's who of Goa came together to celebrate the launch of Poskem: Goans in the Shadows (Om Books International) by Wendell Rodricks, in Panaji. One face that stood out was Kimi Katkar Sheorey, former model and actress who lit up the screen in the iconic song, Jumma Chumma De De.

Kimi Katkar and Wendell Rodricks

Now, we hear, she is settled in Goa and makes the rare appearance at noted events. She was here at the behest of Rodricks, the publishers told this diarist. The two are friends and Rodricks was certain he wanted her and Maria Goretti (who was also spotted at the Mumbai launch) to release his book. Now, that's what we call a blast from the past!

When Google gets too helpful
Sample this. You are looking for directions to a nearby pizza place, and Google Maps throws up: Chhota Italy, or if you are in Delhi, Italy ka Tukda. These literal online translations have become the butt of Twitter jokes, with users posting amusing finds. Hauz Khas Samajik, Mota Aadmi Chhat Cafe, and Steve Jhunjhlana are some of the translations that had us in splits. (We'll keep you guessing about the original names!) But, it looks like Google has taken note, and many of these names are now just the original versions in Devnagri. Switch on the translate option and have fun while it lasts, we say.

Adani Power shock for EPW's editor
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who was appointed editor of the prestigious Economic and Political Weekly in January 2015, has stepped down, according to media watchers. His resignation comes days after the Adani Group sent a criminal defamation notice following an EPW investigative story that alleged that a group company received unfair tax refunds. When the notice was served last week, Thakurta stood by the story.

He even tweeted about it. However, when we checked last night, the original story, the Adani legal notice, and EPW's response - all of which were online till now - were pulled off the publication's website. The recent decisions of the Sameeksha Trust, which runs EPW, have not covered its trustees in glory. Thakurta's long-serving predecessor Rammanohar Reddy resigned after the trustees questioned his decision to commission a series of special issues and a documentary when the publication turned 50 last year.