Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Mightier than sword
Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram keeps his pen safe from prying eyes at the launch of his new book that explores the idea of India. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Jim's indie scene
After starring in Prateek Kuhad's viral hit Cold Mess, Jim Sarbh will star in another indie music video that releases today by the Mumbai-based band Ape Echoes. "We are quite thrilled to have had Jim on board.

He is super talented and expressive! It's very fortunate that the production house we worked with had a working relationship with him, and that he loved their script! He's got the right amount of charm, charisma and quirk for this music, script and video," musician Nirmit Shah told this diarist. Sarbh has been a regular at indie music gigs, and we can bet that this won't be the last video he features in.

Ranvir takes the road more travelled
It's not unusual to see actors go all out on social media to promote their films. But seeing Ranvir Shorey do it for his latest, Sonchiriya, didn't go down well with a fan. "I truly admire your work and look up to you. Please stop retweeting about your film like other commercial celebrities. Good work needs no such promotion post film release..." he rued. To this, Shorey had a reply which speaks of the way the industry functions. "I used to think like you, and ended up not getting work. So now I've decided to retweet like commercial celebrities. Please bear with me. Paapi pet ka sawaal hai. Thanks for watching!"

Namrata's Gulf indulgence
On a recent trip to Dubai, where one of the pit stops on the itinerary was a visit to a newly launched beach-style restaurant at a luxury hotel, this diarist happened to spot Namrata Purohit among fellow diners. Asked about her picks from the menu, the celebrity fitness trainer took us by surprise when she said it was a holiday of indulgence and she wasn't counting calories. "I had the pizza, nachos, falafel, French fries, Caesar salad and chocolate fondant," she shared. Back in the bay, we caught up with Purohit again, and she told us, "I had put on a few kilos. But I have managed to work some of it off, too." Now, this is a fitness regimen to follow.

Rudrani Dasgupta at Ramsha Baluch's wedding in Karachi

We love this brew
In all the vitriol on social media after the Pulwama attack, we spotted a ray of hope called Chai ki Dukaan. A Facebook page founded last week by Karachi's Ramsha Baluch and Rudrani Dasgupta from Kolkata, it offers a platform for Indians and Pakistanis to share their tales of friendship. "We were doing our masters in London, and met during a common class. The year passed by in a flash, we are still friends. Still here, on both sides of the border," the duo said. May the spirit travel offline.

A toast to culinary influencers
A Woman's Place (Little Brown), co-authored by Indian-American food writer Deepi Ahluwalia (below), and Stef Ferrari is a homage to women who changed the way we eat. This diarist learnt of the book in November last year, and has been waiting to flip through its pages.

It was finally released yesterday, and we learnt from Ahluwalia that it includes a piece on Kamala Chattopadhyay - who walked to Chowpatty, right here in Mumbai, during the Satyagraha march. Model and television host Padma Lakshmi is all praise for the title, calling it "a treasure of a book". We are wasting no time in ordering our copy.

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