Ranbir's Six Pack

25 April,2014 06:00 AM IST |   |  Malavika Sangghvi

And finally, Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap’s dream project has been wrapped


And finally, Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap's dream project has been wrapped. As someone close to him said, "Nine years of dreaming, two years of pre-prod and production, another seven months of post production. 75 days of shoot and Bollywood's first real neo noir drama!"


Anurag Kashyap and Ranbir Kapoor

Based on Princeton professor Gyan Prakash's book, ‘Mumbai fables!' and Kashyap's fascination with the writing of James Ellroy, we are excitedly looking forward to Bombay Velvet.

Not only because it's from the house of Kashyap, which never ceases to surprise, provoke and delight us, or the fact that it's supposed to feature a character based on our friend, the late great Russi Karanjia, but for another, less lofty reason: the sight of Ranbir Kapoor's alleged six pack-created just for the film, we're told!

Three weddings in Paris
And word comes in that the attractive and talented Mira Kamdar, member of the editorial board of the New York Times, former Fulbright scholar and author (Planet India), who divides her time between Brooklyn and Paris, will be getting married to her long time beau next month in Paris. And along with the torrent of congratulations that is pouring in for the popular couple, there's been a certain amount of teasing.


Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Pic/Getty Images

Why so? Well, turns out that the date they've chosen has also been picked by two other popular couples also getting married in Paris: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West! And though all three nuptials will be dusted with Parisian elegance and romance, only one will be legal: In France, one spouse has to be a legal resident of the country and the ceremony must be performed at the city hall of the place where they are domiciled, a requirement that only the Kamdars meet.


Kayne West and Kim Kardashian. Pic/Getty Images

Oh well, the other two will make up in paparazzi and headlines we're sure.

No nonsense style
Always good to meet the statuesque Delhi-based Sunita Kohli on her whirlwind trips to Mumbai. Tuesday evening saw us catch up with her at a Sobo eatery. An interior designer, architectural restorer and furniture manufacturer of distinction, Kohli brought us up to scratch about mutual friends and Delhi life. As someone who had undertaken such prestigious assignments, the restoration and decoration of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, the Prime Minister's Office and Hyderabad House, Kohli is the ultimate insider; but unlike some of her other compatriots her interests are wide, going way beyond politics. A student of literature and history, her knowledge of the world of books, travel cinema and theatre is riveting and it would not be an exaggeration to say that her dinners in Delhi at her Golf Links home boast the best crowd in town.


Mary-Kate Olsen, Nicolas Sarkozy

Kohli brought us up to speed about our friend Christine Wisner who was married to former American ambassador in Delhi, Frank Wisner and had visited India recently. We'd met Christine on a recent trip to New York, and we'd reported on these pages about the innate style and sophistication of this former diplomat's wife and step-mother of French president Sarkozy (through a previous marriage), who'd nonchalantly strolled over to a bus-stand and had taken the bus home after dinner!


Sunita Kohli

Now Christine's claim to snootiness were even stronger: her son Olivier Sarkozy, (half brother of the former French President) was engaged to be married to Mary-Kate Olsen the American actress, fashion designer, producer, author, and phenomenally successful businesswoman. (The luxe fashion brands she co-founded with her twin Ashley have made her one of the richest female entertainers in America!)

Would this new brush with international glam change the husky voiced, lithe and attractive chain smoking Christine, give her airs and graces, prompt her to eschew public transport and take limos, we wondered briefly? Then we recalled our friend's earthy laughter and no nonsense style recently on Manhattan's Upper East Side and decided: Nope.

Sunny side up for Kejriwal?
It had to happen. Ever since the egg, cheese and chilly combo open sandwich served for decades at Mumbai's legendary Willingdon Club, to a delicious slice of the upper crust was given a fillip by its association with the firebrand activist and AAP politician, news has it that it is available across the city at more accessible locales.

Or so says the delightful ‘Bombaywallah.org' a site dedicated to the history and lore of Old Bombay recently launched by PhD candidate at Oxford Simin Patel.

‘Even Bombay's most famous Kejriwal-has been swept by the wave of change orchestrated by its namesake in Delhi,' it reported, adding, ‘Originally served to the bade bade (big and famous) members of Bombay's Willingdon Club, the Kejriwal is now available to the city's aam aadmi (ordinary man) at popular cafes across the city!'

‘One egg Kejriwal coming up with cutting chai', at your local Irani or dosa joint?

Nice!

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