24 October,2016 07:23 AM IST | | Malavika Sangghvi
It's been a veritable crush of famous faces trying out Luna Nudo and Luno Gusta, the city's newest and highest fine dining destinations at The St Regis, Mumbai
Shibani Kashyap, Achla Sachdev, Pria Kataaria Puri and Vidya Malvade
A fashion show on Thursday evening by designer Pria Kataria Puri had beautifully showcased the seamless flow of spaces across the restaurant's grand stairway connecting the Luna Gusta and Luna Nudo. Kataria Puri jetted off to Abu Dhabi and Geneva right after the show.
Big fat Sunday brunch
We could not make it to the big fat Sunday brunch hosted by Rishad Nathani to launch his Clearing House, but from all accounts, it was "a true blue SoBo happening", according to one of the guests who did.
Irfan Pabaney, Rahul Akerkar, AD Singh and Rishad Nathani at the launch of Clearing House
And with known SoBo denizens Roohi and Chetan Jaikishan, Farah Riyad Oomberbhoy, Surily Goel, Renu Chainani, Sachin and Gayatri Shah, Avantika Pramod Raju, Dilip and Shobhaa De, Binita Bodani, Lyla Zubin Marker, Dilshad Khambatta, Laila and Ricky Lamba, Zeba and Rajesh Kohli, Rohan and Cecilia Parikh and Divya Mohta in attendance, no surprises that the party went on till late Sunday evening.
Laila, Zubin Marker and Pramod Raju
"Of course the cherry on Nathani's cake was that his mentors in the F&B space Rahul Akerker, Irrfan Pabaney and AD Singh had made it a point to come to wish him and chef Nitin Kulkarni for the enterprise's success."
Roohi Jaikishan
As for whether the brunch saw any filmstars attending, our source replied quite emphatically, "No way, I told you it was a true blue SoBo event, didn't I?"
Another brick in the wall
Ever since Donald Trump threatened to build one on the Mexico-US border, walls have become a matter of great hilarity, but the following information shared with us in great confidence by someone of credibility appears to be more than just another brick. Apparently, there is a newly flushed and reconstructed wall at the official residence of a powerful local authority in Mumbai, which has a story to tell. Until quite recently, it was said to be a hollow wall in whose cavity currency up to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars could be stored.
This was notably the stash of funds generated on a regular basis to deploy as and when required by the powers that be at the Centre. However, the new incumbent of the house, said to be a pretty straightforward kind of a chap, is said to have pulled down the wall and had it reconstructed to serve the function it ought to have in the first place: that of holding up the ceiling and displaying a painting.
As for the teller of this tale, he swears that he's seen it all happen before his very eyes - the tearing down of the original wall and putting up of the new one in its place. "The new one has a huge painting of a revered Indian warrior on it," he says. "And very few people can guess the story behind it."
Incidentally, now that the wall has gone, the incumbent is also said to have issued a diktat that all those who visit his residence be screened for amounts of cash that they are carrying and these cannot exceed the stipulated limit. If walls had ears...
Director's Cut
The best thing to come out from the margins MAMI so far is this gem that emanated from the 'Director's Cut' session at the Rang Mandir moderated by Anupama Chopra and Rajeev Masand, who had managed to line up Bollywood's biggest auteurs Vishal Bhardwaj, Shoojit Sircar, Zoya Akhtar and Gauri Shinde for a pow wow on Sunday afternoon.
Zoya Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj and Gauri Shinde
Apparently, Bhardwaj recounted the best advice he'd ever received on the business of movie-making from none other than celebrated scriptwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar: "Always make a film that you'd like to watch yourself," Akhtar had said to the young director. "That way, on the day of its release, there will be at least one person in the audience who likes the film," recounted Bhardwaj to great applause from the audience.
The other bon mot that raised a laugh was Rohit Shetty's (yes, in a great show of tolerance, he had been put on the panel) candour. "I knew Golmaal was a crap film even while I was making it," he'd said.
Diamonds are forever
It's the most infamous diamond in the world, and soon, Chiki Sarkar's Juggernaut will be publishing the Kohinoor saga, written by no less than two popular historians who are sure to do it justice - the Britain- (Scotland, actually) born William Dalrymple, who lives in Delhi, and radio and TV presenter and journalist Anita Anand, who lives in London.
William Dalrymple
"Coming soon... An early mock up of Chiki's rather elegant Juggernaut cover: What do you all think?" posted Dalrymple about the book's jacket, adding, "Anita and I are thinking The World's Most Infamous Diamond might work better." Indeed!
Twinkle toes
Success may not have gone to the beleaguered Karan Johar's head, but it might have gone to his shoes. Take a look at the blingy shoes he chose to wear for the MAMI opening at the Royal Opera House hosted by Nita Ambani and Kiran Rao on Thursday evening and to the after-party at Antillia that night.
To paraphrase Paul Simon, "He's got Diamonds on the souls of his feet." Oh yeah!
