The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Mind the gap
Actor Kartik Aaryan takes a not-so-giant leap while launching a new song from his upcoming film, at Narsee Monjee College in Vile Parle on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande
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Dignitaries and Zonta International members at the centennial celebrations
Striking 100
The history of Zonta International, an organisation that empowers women worldwide through service and advocacy, goes back 100 years. On Monday, the centennial celebrations were held at CCI's Naidu Hall by Zonta Club of Bombay (I and III). With a welcome address delivered by club president Shehernaz Asavaid, the centennial country award was handed over to Kriti Bharti from Rajasthan, who has stopped around 1,000 child marriages and annulled 300. Anvita Varia, a student of Savera Special School, was given an encouragement award. Other dignitaries at the event included social activists Captain Ritu Biyani and Sunita Mahajan.
Putting the filmy spotlight on women
It is often alleged that the Indian film industry is a male-dominated one. But Aditya Kripalani is one director who has been bucking that trend since his debut feature, Tikli and Laxmi Bomb, which had an all-female star cast. In fact, his second film, Totta Pataka Item Maal, also had four women playing the role of protagonists. In it, the quartet kidnaps a man who was passing inappropriate comments at them, and gives him more than a taste of his own medicine. And now, news filters in that the movie has been selected for the UK Asian Film Festival starting end March. We had earlier reported in these pages how Tikli and Laxmi Bomb, too, had made it to the same festival. So, that makes it two in a row for Kripalani, which is heartening news since he doesn't seem to subscribe to the movie industry's alleged patriarchy. More power to him.
Presenting a book on radio jockeys
You've heard them on air. Now, you can read all about their lives in print. A new book called Let's Talk on Air: Conversations with Radio Presenters celebrates the journeys of 14 of the most popular RJs in India. They include Yunus Khan, Mamta Singh, Hrishikesh Kannan and Anuraag "Picture" Pandey. Rakesh Anand Bakshi (in pic), lyricist Anand Bakshi's son, has written the book. He said, "With the ongoing explosion of online media and radio stations in smaller cities and towns, there must be many today who want to be in the shoes of these presenters. So, I asked myself if there was a way to offer aspiring radio jockeys multiple perspectives on their dream profession."
Dining made easy
Has it ever happened to you that you've gone out for a meal and have had trouble with your contact lenses, which ruined the dining experience? Or, if you wear reading glasses, realised you weren't carrying your pair? Well, if such a situation now crops up at Oh! Calcutta, then there's no need for you to worry. For, the restaurant is offering a host of emergency items that diners might need, such as sewing kits and woollen shawls. A warm thought, we feel!
Dream come true for Indian hip-hop
A piece of news from last morning reaffirmed the fact that Indian hip-hop is finally getting international recognition. We are assuming it has something to do with the promotions for an upcoming film. But either way, the fact that desi hip-hop mainstays Naezy and DIVINE, and actor Ranveer Singh, have collaborated with American rap legend Nas for a track is something that's unprecedented in the Indian indie scene.
Unprecedented, because Nas is one of the earliest pioneers of hip-hop, and ranks alongside Tupac and Notorious B.I.G as one of the people who was instrumental in bringing about global acceptance for the genre. The song is called NY to Mumbai. When this diarist spoke to Naezy about what this collaboration means for him, he said, "It's like a dream come true. We've been listening to him since childhood, and I used to listen to his first album, Illmatic, all through college. I even wore T-shirts that had his face on it. So, he is like Amitabh Bachchan for hip-hop fans, and I had to pinch myself when I heard that I am collaborating with him."
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