Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Anurag Ahire

His Cup of Dreams

A boy gazes at the graffiti of a soccer player in Mahim

Comeback performance

A play being staged at a previous edition of the festival and Shernaz Patel

The Aadyam Theatre festival will mark its first post-pandemic return to the city in February. Artistic director Shernaz Patel (in pic below) shared that the sixth edition of the festival will allow for greater audience participation. "This time, we don't want them to only be a spectator. So we have created exciting ways to make audiences an integral part of our story." This includes workshops, theatre podcasts and a theatre club. Held in Mumbai and Delhi over eight months, the festival will see six plays performed over 57 shows.

Learning the right stitches

Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma with the late Stan Lee (right) Cosplayers show off the creations at a previous Comic Con at Delhi in 2022

Cosplay is serious business, this diarist always thought. But there is a method to its madness. With the Maximum City set to host Comic Con next month, fans are already steeped in preparation. For those who are ready to level up, an upcoming workshop this Sunday might just be the perfect dress rehearsal. The workshop, helmed by professional costume designers Saurabh Singh Rawat and Jeet Molankar will focus on the basic dos and don'ts, as well as economical ways of keeping the cosplay expenses down. "Cosplay isn't just about wearing a costume, it is about bringing your favorite characters to life," said Jatin Varma, founder, Comic Con India. Describing the workshop as a means to learn about the details that go into costume creation, Varma said, "It is an opportunity for pop culture enthusiasts to take their passion to a whole new level." Fans can check @Comicconindia for details.

Also read: Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier

Kissa-e-jazz

While the term jazz kissa might sound like a story, it is not. Manu Trivedi, co-owner of The Revolver Club, shared that the term traces its roots to the small cafés and tea shops in Japan dedicated to serious jazz listening. "We are hoping to bring back the sense of community enjoyment of jazz to the city," Trivedi (inset) said, describing the weekend's debut jazz kissa at Abode that will showcase four albums of John Coltrane. "Our intent is to expose people to themed listening sessions," he noted, adding that there are plans to take these sessions to Andheri, Powai and Mulund in the future. "Mumbai is a big city, and we hope to spread the love for jazz across it," he concluded.

What's the RD Burman-Pele connection?

Composer RD Burman and Pele

Bollywood's iconic music composer-singer RD Burman (aka Pancham) was a passionate fan of legendary Brazilian footballer Pele who passed away recently. He would treasure pictures of the Brazilian great - both posed and in action - according to noted senior film scribe Chaitanya Padukone, who had interviewed the composer several times for this newspaper. He recalled that Panchamda, who passed away on this day in 1994, was a crazy football fan and would get a kick (pun intended) out of watching live and recorded matches, especially those featuring Pele. Burman's favourite international team was Brazil and he even incorporated Brazilian rhythms in his songs. Incidentally, in the cult comedy movie Golmaal (1979) with music by Burman, there are striking mentions of ‘Black Pearl' Pele in the dialogues. Amol Palekar would surely remember that.

Clouds over the 'burbs

This year will begin on a busy note for Rashmi Mehta's Ray's Cafe and Pizzeria. The proprietor shared that the Bandra café has opened its first cloud kitchen to cater to diners in Juhu, Versova and Andheri. "A lot of our clientele come from Juhu to pick up food in Bandra. So it seemed a good idea for us to expand," Mehta shared. Despite the new clientele, the kitchen will stick to its trademark pizzas and pastas for now, Mehta revealed.