The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Kangana Ranaut Pic/ Sneha Kharade
Not a selfie queen
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While Kangana Ranaut doesn't seem keen on obliging a fan for a selfie, she lets her bodyguard do the talking in Juhu on Wednesday.
Not so quick
When news came out recently that an American transportation technology company was working towards reducing travel time between Mumbai and Pune to 30 minutes, with work for the first phase beginning in December, it became fodder for the city's stand-up comedians."
While Sapan Verma came up with a punchy "RIP McDonald's Panvel", referring to the popular stop just before you hit the expressway, Atul Khatri took a more desi route. "I will only step in this thing if they serve Datta Wada Pav inside. Else I am taking the expressway," he said. But it wasn't a domain of the comics alone, as common Mumbaikars shared their takes on it, too, with most doubting that the 30-minute trip would end at Vashi, after which it's another two hours to Andheri. Touché!
Copy that
Priyank Sukhija (inset) posted that Kalra's new venture (above) has elements copied from his property
What happens when two influential restaurateurs are connected via a social media spat? Well, we'll find out soon because there's a copycat accusation that came to our notice yesterday when Priyank Sukhija took to social media to suggest that Zorawar Kalra's yet-to-launch property in Lower Parel has some elements — particularly the interiors, based on an image Kalra posted — that have been copied from Sukhija's Plum by Bent Chair that opened in January 2018 at Lower Parel. "It has the same greenery hanging from the ceiling and colour combination," Sukhija alleged. And while the post has people wondering if the two have partnered up, the comments stand divided as many point out the obvious — you can't judge a place by one picture.
Meanwhile, Kalra took to Instagram and posted pictures of Hotel Cartegena in Dubai. He wrote, "Apparently, some people think that we have copied their look and feel. Firstly, we don't copy. The industry is well aware of who copies whom. These are images of a restaurant in Dubai owned by my business partners with whom I have multiple restaurants. It opened in April of last year. I was involved in the design direction and conceptualisation. I thought this should be the inspiration behind my new venture, as I loved the design. I have never even ENTERED the restaurant that my team is presumed to have copied nor would I want to [sic]." Here's hoping the two settle this soon.
Thrills, chills, political spills
Sunanda Pushkar; Meenakshi Lekhi
Today marks the 55th birth anniversary of Sunanda Pushkar. It has been over four years since the businesswoman and wife of politician Shashi Tharoor was found dead in her hotel suite, and next month senior journalist Sunanda Mehta, Pushkar's former classmate, is coming out with The Extraordinary Life and Death of Sunanda Pushkar — an analytical account of who she was. But that's not the only thriller to read next month. Member of Parliament and national spokesperson of the BJP, Meenakshi Lekhi is set to release her debut novel as well. Titled The New Delhi Conspiracy, the story revolves around the shooting of a scientist in front of an MP's home. That's enough reading material for at least a month for those who love their politics.
Bombay dreams are made of these
Amin Sheikh's journey — from being a kid raised on the streets of the city to being an art director and finally, realising his dream project of being the owner of a café — has been a long and eventful one. In March this year, Bombay to Barcelona Library Café, which employs and caters to the needs of orphaned and downtrodden children and youngsters, was shuttered as the landlord of the property had failed to pay his loans. At that time, Sheikh and his team, or as he calls them, "angels" had to close down the café with a heavy heart. But this week, he finally had some good news to share. "A new place has been born. Today, we have started the paperwork and the contract with the owner of a new place. We are checking each and everything this time so we will not lose our café again," he shared with this diarist, adding that the new space is just 1 km away from the old one in Marol.
A rendezvous worth forgetting
Simi Garewal doesn't belong to the ilk that tweets every couple of hours. But that's what the veteran actor resorted to yesterday after she took to Twitter to write, "I switch on TV news..it's about lynching, babies raped, murders & inhuman brutality. I turn to Twitter..I see Dalits being whipped. Muslims beaten to death. India is becoming a bloodthirsty lawless barbaric nation. Dear God where are you?" Expectedly, her lament didn't go down too well with Twitterati, who started trolling her almost immediately. With people talking about how she's conveniently forgotten about the 1993 Mumbai blasts and 26/11 terror attacks. Within minutes, the actor reacted by blocking all of the users, reasoning it as blocking negativity. "I just expressed my despair at the violence I see, read & hear around us..& the blind bhakts got nasty!" she said.
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