Dressed in a sport-sy little white dress, make up free, with her hair pulled back in a pony, Lara Dutta spoke mostly of her daughter ("She's five going on fifty!") with a mother's pride.
One sleepy Friday afternoon
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What's it like to sit side by side with a Bollywood actress in a tiny salon in Bandra on a sleepy Friday afternoon?
We were to find the answer to that over the weekend, when we found ourselves facing the bright and peppy Lara Dutta at her go to place for her hair requirements.
Lara Dutta
Dressed in a sport-sy little white dress, make up free, with her hair pulled back in a pony, Dutta spoke mostly of her daughter ("She's five going on fifty!") with a mother's pride.
Does she possess her parent's striking physicality, after all with tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi as dad, and a beauty pageant winner and actress as mom? "She does," said Dutta, "but she's just done with tennis lessons. Actually I think she wants to be a ballerina!"
Dutta was preparing for the evening ahead (dinner with husband and friends at a hip new eatery at BKC, and then on to the new lounge at a five-star) and would soon be off with family to Europe for the summer vacations.
And then she was off. But not before she'd been ambushed leaving the salon by a photographer, waiting to snap her pic. That's what it's like sharing the salon with a star on a sleepy Friday afternoon in Bandra!
Lawyering up in style
As the Poonam Bhagat and Jai Shroff battle appears to get more intense, it seems to be gathering more heft. Word comes in that both parties are 'lawyering up' in a fight to the finish with both seeking the best counsel money can buy.
P Chidambaram; (right) Poonam Bhagat
And towards this end, sources say that Poonam has got one of the most astute legal brains on her side, no less than former Finance Minister and outspoken columnist and opposition leader P Chidambaram himself! If one needs any evidence about how serious a fight this is turning out to be, this is it.
Meanwhile, friends of both hope that good sense prevails all round and things are sorted out amicably, between what was at one time a loving duo who used to throw open the doors of their stunning art filled home in Pali Hill to Mumbai's best and brightest with panache.
Cricket - The New Glam
Move over Bollywood, it appears that cricket stars might just be India's New Glam. Post the India-Pakistan match in Birmingham, everyone who mattered was all suited up in their finest tux and gowns at swashbuckling Captain Virat Kohli's Charity Ball at the HAC ground in London.
Virat Kohli
Those in attendance among the 500 or so crowd, partook of the continental starters, main course of chicken breast with herbs, followed with summer pudding served in a glass and flutes of Pol Rogers. Besides the current Indian team along with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuvraj Singh and Farroukh Engineer, were actress Jacqueline Fernandez (seated at Kohli's table), restaurateur AD Singh, London-based food magnate Arun Harnal, sports entrepreneur and Kohli's manager Bunty Sachdev who had earlier been linked with Sonakshi Sinha.
"Sachin very graciously opened the innings and candidly shared that his life has been like two innings, and only in the second did he look at larger issues, the wider world and giving back, which is why he found Kohli's effort so early in his career so impressive," said Singh.
To which the lean mean winning machine is reported to have set the mood for the philanthropic occasion, saying, "When I go to practice sessions, my focus always goes on people who are lying on the side of the road, with just a blanket and literately no food. I wanted to do something for them".
And he did. The auction is said to have been a huge success with a Sacha Jafri painting depicting 10 years of IPL with Virat's touches and hand prints going for over £350000, and Rami Ranger of Sun Mark bidding £30000 for dinner with Virat!!
See what we mean Bollywood? Cricket's just shown how to give back in style. Time to go back to the drawing board.
Mother Courage
'All the characters and incidents in this book are imaginary; resemblance to any person dead or alive is purely coincidental,' is the disclaimer at the beginning of 'Drama karma dharma: The inner voice, are you listening,' a Kindle ebook that's just been released, by Chatura, the daughter of legendary actress Shobhana Samarth and sister of the equally revered actress, Nutan.
Chatura, photographed by her daughter, Shilpa Mukerji
Said to be the story of Mohini who is born with a silver spoon in her mouth to a famous film star and into a glamorous world of luxury, the book is described as a high life drama, unravelling hidden secrets, betrayal, passion and pain".
"She was born the third unwanted daughter, instead of the longed-for son, and her mother's disappointment and neglect consumed her with anger and frustration," says Chatura's lovely daughter, the photographer Shilpa Mukerji, of the book's protagonist. "But unbelievably through that turmoil she heard the almost inaudible voice within; the internal compass that guides us when we listen, and she slowly became aware of a gentle power that permeated her of God's healing presence," she adds.
"My mother is an example of someone who defies age and any limits to what one can do, as a woman and a human being," says the proud daughter and then emphasizes, "Just wanted to clarify that the book is purely fiction, and anything that resembles reality is purely coincidental."
(L to R) Vikram Salgaocar, Akash, Anmol and Anshul Ambani
He may have created India's largest conglomerate and most successful company, but he was also the patriarch of the First Family of India Inc. and doting grandfather to a vibrant brood of grandchildren.
Recently, we came across this delightful photo of a few of Dhirubhai Ambani's grandsons, Vikram Salgaocar and Akash, Anmol and Anshul Ambani, who were snapped together at a football match in Europe last week. Each dashing and well-educated young man is ready to take on the world with the responsibility of a million Indians on his shoulders, and large shoes to fill.
From left to right, meet the Ambani progeny: Vikram, the oldest cousin and the son of Goa-based businessman Raj and Dipti Salgaocar, is a Wharton graduate who shuffles his time between varying business interests in USA and India.
Akash, the elder son of Mukesh and Nita Ambani, is an alumnus of Brown University, who has been given the responsibility of steering the ambitious launch of Jio, and most recently he steered his IPL cricket franchise to its third victory; standing with him are Anmol and Anshul Ambani, the two dashing sons of Anil and Tina Ambani.
Anmol is a Warwick graduate who joined his father's financial arm of the conglomerate and is said to be the behind the scenes, a deal maker with an astute head for numbers and strong business acumen; and young Anshul, currently finishing college in New York, will soon be returning to India to make his own mark in the empire.
We have watched all four boys grow into strapping young men, each ready to be at the forefront of their country's development and to add his own chapter to their grandfather's famous legacy.
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