17 October,2021 07:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Bipin Kokate
Two women and their children and prams in tow head for evening walks at Marine Drive.
Music composer, producer, and the founder of Rawr Music Entertainment, Tallz aka Karan Jhaveri, has collaborated with singer Kamakshi Rai, who is well known in the musical theatre world, especially for her role in Sing India Sing. Their song, Thodi Si Dua, is a soulful ditty which asks the listener to embrace their battles, as they always teach us something valuable. "We wrote this song during the lockdown, and I landed up meeting Aftab Khan, who is a part of the Salim and Suleiman team. When he heard this song, he suggested that we pitch this song to Merchant Records," says Tallz. The encouraging reception they have received for their debut indie single, has already led them to finalise their second track.
After setting up two luxury sporting arcades and indoor entertainment destinations in Mumbai - The Game: Go Play Go Insane in Worli and The Game Palacio in Bandra - restaurateur Prasuk Jain is ensuring Navi Mumbai doesn't end up feeling FOMO. Next month, he will be launching The Game Garden, a forest-themed gaming centre, which will house a beer garden and a restaurant. "You'll be seeing a lot of greenery in the indoor and outdoor areas. It'll also have the nation's first indoor golf centre," says Jain. The property is spread over 31,000 sq ft. The idea, he says, is to make a day out of it. "You eat, drink, chill, play games and just have some downtime."
Darshan Mehta, MD and CEO at Reliance Brands Limited with couturier Manish Malhotra. Pic Courtesy/Prasad Naik
Earlier this year, Manish Malhotra spoke about discovering the blissful routine of waking up at 5 am and going on early morning walks in mid-day. "It's meditative and instantly puts me in a happy space," he had said. Between then and now, a lot has happened in that happy space. Starting with Malhotra announcing his directorial film debut to becoming the first Indian designer to present his iconic costumes in NFT (non-fungible token) form, followed quickly by the news of a strategic partnership between Manish Malhotra and Reliance Brands Limited (RBL). RBL has signed an agreement to invest in founder and creative director, Manish Malhotra's eponymous brand for a 40 per cent minority stake. This is the first external investment for the brand, which had so far been privately held by the designer. Malhotra, who will continue in his role as managing and creative director, explains the deciding factor was the like-mindedness with Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL). "I've always admired the workings of Reliance as a company and the family's vision in the various sectors they operate globally. This philosophy of agility and forward-thinking are common to both Manish Malhotra and RBL, making it a natural decision for me." Malhotra says that the immediate plan is to boost international expansion, introduce new products and designs, and develop tech innovations at both physical and digital stores. "Most importantly, we are looking forward to setting up a formalised, corporate framework that ensures sustenance of the brand's legacy," Malhotra told this diarist.
India's then cricket captain Kapil Dev features in an Air India advertisement after winning the 1985 Rothmans Cup in Sharjah
The iconic Air India maharaja was propelled into prominence - at least on social media - yet again as the airline was acquired by Tatas earlier this week. Air India has enjoyed quite a firm connection with cricket. This diarist remembers Air India having members of the 1983-84 West Indies team to India appear in advertisements for them - captain Clive Lloyd, manager and ex-fast bowler Wes Hall, wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon and even pacer Michael Holding. The following season, India won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia under Sunil Gavaskar, who announced his retirement as captain after that triumph. Nineteen days later, Kapil Dev led India to the Rothmans Cup victory in Sharjah and suddenly it was a great time to be a cricket fan. Air India didn't miss out on the euphoria and they put out this advertisement which appeared in the April 13, 1985 issue of The Sportstar magazine. PS: You can blame us if this puts you in the mood to have that hit song from Aap Ki Khatir on loop.
Mumbai-based author Vrushali Telang has a new feather in her cap. Telang who recently won Best Director (short film) at the Berlin Indie Film Festival 2021, for her debut film Bena, has now been nominated for the Shorted film awards. The film has been written and directed by Telang, and is based on one of her short stories called The Lie, which she had written earlier this year for a yet-to-be published book. Starring Juhaina Ahsan, it tells the story of a house-help whose identity comes in the way of opportunities in the city. "I've never followed a particular trajectory of writing - I keep jumping genres. That's how I started exploring short stories. After I wrote The Lie, it never really left me. Around the same time, I was also attending Boman Irani's workshop Spiral Bound, where he focused purely on screenplay writing. I thought why not apply the techniques I have learnt, to develop this screenplay. And then, as if magically, everything else fell into place."
