The friendly neighbourhood pizza joint

"We're trying out a new dough today," said the dapper Jai Mehta, businessman and better half of actress Juhi Chawla, when we met him over the weekend at his latest enterprise, Pizza Metro at SoBo's Kemps Corner.

Mehta was accompanied by his pretty daughter Jhanvi and appeared genuinely interested in feed back about his outlet, which has managed to piggyback on the success and buzz his Bandra offering had created.

Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej

Gone are the days when denizens from the two residential conclaves of Cumballa and Malabar Hill had to go foraging to faraway Cuffe Parade or Lower Parel for their quick Italian fix.

Pizza Metro's thin crust Portobello with generous pourings of truffle oil and their spicy pizza Diavola (which is even offered in a full metre long size), are easily the best in town. "We love the idea that we can walk down for a quick spaghetti and a glass of Chardonnay, " we said to Mehta.

He smiled, but his eyes twinkled mischievously at the thought of SoBokers walking to anything, even the grocer's next door. After all, just the week before, the Godrejs, Adi, Parmesh, their daughter Tanya, and her kids were spotted at Pizza Metro for a family day out at lunchtime.

But if you think one of India's most prominent business clans walked there, think again. Outside was parked their sparkling Rolls Royce! Yes, the Godrejs had dropped in for a quick bite of pizza in their Rolls! Just another day in the paradise called Mumbai.

Haseena strikes a new path
Priya Aswani, the Inchbald trained designer who recently launched her bespoke wedding planner enterprise with Divya Mohta, has sure been a busy girl.

Haseena Jethmalani

Later on this month, a collection of her designed and curated home accessories will be on sale at her home on Cumballa Hill. Aswani has launched this line in partnership with fashionista Haseena (Mahesh) Jethmalani, who until recently was behind the fashion store S.

"I'm taking a sabbatical from the whole shop thing," said Jethmalani when we asked her about her change of track. "I needed something new to get me motivated," she said, adding, "Do drop by, it's quite a nice varied collection."

Angry Indian actresses
Even as Angry Indian Goddesses gears up for its release this Friday, we're told Sandhya Mridul, who plays one of the leads, is going to hold a special screening for screen icons Waheeda Rehman and Helen.

Sandhya Mridul

"Sandhya has looked upto both Waheedaji and Helenji as her personal goddesses," said a spokesperson. "And both have willingly extended their support for the movie and will be attending the special screening."

Helen and Waheeda Rehman

For the uninitiated, the Pan Nalin directed film is being marketed as the ultimate girl gang film, with the plot revolving around Frieda played by Sarah-Jane Dias, who invites her closest girl friends to (where else?) Goa to announce her wedding which catapults into a wild bachelorette party!

"The film is an emotional roller coaster ride which unfolds through the characters amidst fun, chaos and a series of complications that follow," said the spokesperson. We're looking forward to it, but if it turns out to be a watered down version of Thelma and Louise meets Finding Fanny, don't blame us!

The Indrani factor
As more dark diabolical secrets are revealed about the inner machinations of Indrani Mukerjea's festered and dank heart, we cannot help wondering how no one had any inclination about her evil nature or her fiendish intent.

Indrani Mukerjea

To be honest, on the few occasions that we'd met the wanna-be media tycoon, she had come across as just another ambitious femme fatale who'd stop at nothing to get her way. You meet the type every day in Mumbai: attractive women, sweet as sugar on the outside, hard as nails within.

Indrani had always been honeysweet on the few occasions that we'd met, but we weren't fooled for a minute by that. After three decades in journalism one's antennae for bullshit is pretty sharp. Still, we wouldn't have put her down for murder. And not just any murder - murder of her own flesh and blood!

So here's the conundrum: now that we know just how far a ruthless woman can go, we are wondering about the other two, no make that three, women we know, who always struck as being cut from the Indrani mould.

Two from Mumbai, one from Delhi. Women just as attractive and ambitious, with more or less the same amount of marriages or murky skeletons rattling around on their CVs. Till now, we'd always put them down as your garden-variety social climbers, and brushed aside rumours of their misdemeanors.

But now, we're not so sure. After what we know about human nature and its depravity, we're not so sure at all any more. The Indrani factor: how many of the prettiest faces hide the coldest hardest secrets?

Havoc inside and out
As much as the havoc she's creating within the environs of the Bigg Boss house, this nubile twenty something appears to be matching it with her off-Bigg Boss house presence.

Viewers of the show will recall how Salman Khan makes no attempt to hide his fondness for her causing a fair share of consternation amongst the other inhabitants. And now, sources say that he is not alone in his ardor.

A few weeks ago two Mumbai swains, pillars of the young and restless circles, almost came to blows at a high profile pop up party in a mid city five-star banquet room. The reason? Both, the son of a powerful politician, and the film financier, had dated her at one time.

Apparently before the argument got out of hand (a drink had already been thrown between them), onlookers rushed to quell things down. The lady of course was clueless about this nexus between her exes! With Salman in her corner she's graduated from the boys to a whole new league after all!