Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Baby steps

Three young cricketers are snapped while at practice at Shivaji Park in Dadar.

Spotlight on Sumitra Bhave

A still from the movie. Pic Courtesy/Dr Santosh Pathare

Though filmmaker, theatre director and producer and screenwriter Sumitra Bhave passed away a few years ago, her life continues to inspire people. Sumitra Bhave - Ek Samantar Prawaas (2021), a documentary movie that was made on her incredible life journey, will be screened next week at Vikalp@Prithvi (free movie screenings every month at Prithvi Theatre and online). Directed by Dr Santosh Pathare, the screening will be followed by a Q and A session with him. The movie showcases the journey of Bhave, exploring her understanding of the film medium and her values and principles. "The movies that she made were thought-provoking and compelled the audience to think about social issues like mental health and women's empowerment. My documentary manages to capture her career, how she navigated her career [she started as a professor in social studies], her films as an art form and the subjects she chose to make the movies on," shares Pathare. He adds that the film shows how she thought, her way to look at things, how she believed that the films are a medium to show social transformation.

Dr Santosh Pathare

Garba grooves

A man uses a dholi while doing barrels; (right) Parth Patel dancing on the six feet nagada at a Borivali venue. Pics courtesy/Priyesh Koya

If you are a regular at the Navratri spectacles, you'd know that garba players use props like LED dandiya sticks, dholis and bejewelled umbrellas. But this year, at a Borivali venue, a six-feet nagada was seen. Parth Patel, co-founder of Thangaat Garba and the brain behind it, explained, "We wanted to bring something different, and this has been a massive hit. We have prepared a 15-minute set of barrels, spins and baithak steps, which a few of us perform from 9.15 pm to 9.30 pm on the nagada."

Boss ladies

Carolyn Pereira

You might use trending audios for Instagram Reels, but entrepreneur and voiceover artist Carolyn Pereira revamps them. In her latest video, she rewrote Eminem's The real slim shady and gave it a boss lady twist, rapping about women entrepreneurs like herself as she runs her pancake mix venture Treatfully Yours. "I don't hide my personality from my venture, and customers appreciate this because it builds a real image for the brand and people know who they're buying from; my customers buy from me first, and then, the brand," Pereira shared.

Bow wows for this idea

Karishma Sakhrani; (right) The new pet-friendly space is to meet-up, co-work and converse

Pets and their parents in Navi Mumbai have a new hangout to spend time at. The community workspace of Communion in Belapur has a cool pet-friendly café, which is managed by celebrity chef, Karishma Sakhrani (right). The space - cosy yet chic and comfortable, as she described it - will also host musical evenings, open mics and creative writing camps and other such activities. Helmed by founder and creative director Sameer Uttamsingh, the venture will look to design more such cafés across the country. As for the food, Sakhrani shared, "The food is a beautiful symphony of indulgence and everyday ease. It's a space where you can come and just be."

Hola, Pune!

Pune's first tequila bar

Pune just got its first Mexican tequila bar, called JUJU, which is an ode to Mexican culture. Chef and co-partner Hanoze Shroff drew inspiration from the cantina bars where tequila and dishes like smoked corn with chilli and lime, molletes,were enjoyed. "Our aim is to offer an elevated take on Mexican cuisine while staying true to its roots," Shroff shared. "We set out to craft a contemporary Mexican-inspired experience for our guests, focusing on quality ingredients and authentic sourcing. But most importantly, we wanted to introduce the lively, comfortable vibe of a local Mexican bar to Pune," the space's co-partner, Karan Khilnani, told us.