Kangana and the North-South vibe

"When I'm on long drives I listen to piano music," says the luminous Kangana Ranaut, the film industry's reigning queen who we bumped into at a glam event hosted by a media group at a south Mumbai venue.

What do you do on those trips from north Mumbai to south we'd asked Ranaut, knowing this was her second trip to the same venue in less than a month. "If it's at peak rush hour I dread it," she says, "But if it's like today when the roads were relatively empty, it's a surreal experience, driving over the Sea Link, arriving in a wider older part of the city."

Kangana Ranaut

"I just spend time looking out, observing things while listening to music and introspect," says the star, who is said to have taken off for some much needed me-time recently. "My security and driver both know that no one's to take calls … it's a meditative time," she says. And does she get a different vibe in North and South Mumbai we asked the preternaturally observant actress. "Of course," she says.

"The suburbs seem …accidental," she says and while we're giggling about the appropriateness of the word, she adds, "The South has an old world feel, with colonial architecture. Even the people seem to have embraced more of that culture. I attend derby's and discussions here..." Nice!

Serendipity Art's Fest in Goa
The multi-disciplinary arts fest in Goa, to be held annually during its peak season and spearheaded by Sunil Munjal of Hero Honda, appears to be shaping up rather well.

Kumarmangalam Birla and Sunil Munjal

First written up on this page and said to be the mother of all fests, a kind of mega Think, JLF and Art Summit, it has roped in some of India's leading industrial groups including that of Kumarmangalam Birla, to come on board as partner-patrons.

What's more, ace scenographer Sumant Jaikrishnan, the man who has created some of the most stylish weddings for India's local and international high rollers is said to be one of the designers of this mammoth venture. An artsy smartsy fest for India's literati glitterati and chatterati in Goa during party season? It's known as curated serendipity!

Ravi Shastri and the concept of zero
Talk about being at the right place at the right time especially for one whose knowledge of cricket is abysmal. But when we ran into him on Friday night at a dinner thrown by friends, swashbuckling Ravi Shastri was in a garrulous mood. So when he spoke about having no qualms whatsoever to ‘re-apply for the job of senior men's team head coach,' which he said he would do on Monday we were not aware of the situation one of cricket's tallest stars was in.

Ravi Shastri

That morning, there was the news that his fellow cricketer Sandip Patil, had thrown his hat into the ring, responding to the notice the allegedly reform oriented BCCI had posted on its website.

Be that as it may we were more curious about Shastri the person. The high profile cricket insider's sister, art writer Deepika Sorabjee after all, was decidedly more cerebral we mentioned. "My father was a doctor, my mother a college professor," says Shastri.

"So I'm the one in the family who turned out different." And then he narrated this priceless anecdote: His mother the professor, introduces a new topic to her class, ‘the concept of zero'. What do you know of it? She asks the class. "Your son just got out for one at Eden Gardens," says a rude voice from the back. "And my mother didn't miss a beat and just carried on with her lecture," says Shastri pleased.

To meet a garrulous cricket star on the eve of his next career turn. See that we mean about being at the right place at the right time?

Twin peaks
Word comes in, that industrialist Jay Shroff, who is embroiled in a no holds barred wrangle with his wife art patron Poonam Bhagat, is alleged to have installed two hefty female guards outside what was the couple's swank mansion on Pali Hill.

Poonam Bhagat and Sheetal Mafatlal

This installation of authority, outside a home filled with some of the world's most coveted art installations is ironic enough, but not as ironic as the mirror image playing out hardly a few metres down the same road, outside Bhagat's current residence - her mother's elegant and art filled cottage, given that here she is embroiled in a no holds barred wrangle with her sister - Sheetal Mafatlal.

Housefull at the hospital
The film has been trashed and feted depending on the taste of its viewers, but one thing that must be said about the newly released Housefull 3, is that its actors have truly internalised the goofiness of the whole enterprise, exporting this quality into their off screen lives too.

The cast of Housefull 3

Something of this nature appears to have taken place on the happy occasion of the birth of Riteish Deshmukh's baby last week when the Housefull star cast is said to have converged at the maternity ward of the Breach Candy Hospital to celebrate the happy news.

Riteish and Genelia

And whether that was a good thing or not, for the somewhat staid and stuffy establishment, depends on whether you're a fan of the Housefull franchise or not.