The Playboy Club Mumbai, which opened doors with a launch party by Dino Morea a couple of weeks ago in Lower Parel, seems to have caught the attention of Mumbai's young and restless
Govinda
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The Playboy Club Mumbai, which opened doors with a launch party by Dino Morea a couple of weeks ago in Lower Parel, seems to have caught the attention of Mumbai's young and restless.
But though some guests were expecting to see the infamous 'playboy bunnies' on Friday night, they were surprised to walk into the VIP section and find none other than the original '90s hero, yesteryear star-turned-politico Govinda hanging by the bar. "At first, we thought he was the special guest and would perform until we saw him make a starry exit," says one. Who needs bunnies when you have Govinda in the house!
Where the light gets in
Another brave new voice appears to have emerged from the 'have it all and still not blase' tribe of pen pushing heiresses — the thirty something, bright and outspoken suffragettes heralded by Twinkle Khanna — and this time it is from Delhi (via Tokyo).
Koel Purie Rinchet
As contextual and glamorous is Khanna's background to Mumbai, is Koel Purie Rinchet's to Delhi. Daughter of media baron Aroon Purie and his educationist wife Rekha, the RADA-trained Bollywood actress and TV anchor conducted a popular talk show on a red couch on her dad's TV channel, until she'd flown off with her husband Laurent and their daughter to Tokyo where his work took him.
Recently, she has returned to the media space with a fine column, and delightfully like in the case of Twinkle, she has no hang up about coming across as vulnerable and often imperfect.
ChikiâÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088Sarkar and Twinkle Khanna
"I've started writing a weekly column about the modern quirks of living from a woman's and mother's perspective based out of Tokyo. I believe urban women globally share a commonality and often need vent about how and what they are experiencing. When you read a published piece about something that is so real to you, there is a sense of relief by connecting and not feeling alone," she says.
As for these strong and unafraid thirty-something voices emerging from some celebrated gene pools of Bollywood and media, (publisher Chiki Sarkar is a third) when do we see a new one emerge from corporate India? We're keeping our eyes peeled.
The Modi effect
In these days where rumours are rife, and the most bizarre of stories stick, when our friend, the Oolong tea-serving SoBo hostess friend chortled with excitement (the effect was akin to a frog trapped in an Indian style toilet), we were prepared for some breaking news.
Isheta Salgaocar and Sonam Kapoor
Triumphantly looking us in the eye after dismissing the pedicurist at her feet, she said, "It's official: The Ambanis have been Modified this month." Huh we said, modified as in changed/ altered/ transfigured? "
The OTSHF shot us a withering glance. "You really should read the Economist, then you'd understand my witty puns," she whined. Ahh, you mean that they along with the rest of the country have embraced the Prime Minister's recent and far reaching economic initiatives … we said.
Isheta with her parents Dattaraj and Dipti Salgaocar
The OTFSH was positively ursting to spill the beans. "Oof no!! I mean the Ambanis have been Modified thanks to the Modi Weddings Effect this past month," she said, adding, "Right from attending a wedding in the family of one of their closest associates Manoj Modi; to that of the daughter of Zia and Jaidev Mody, who is related to them through Nita's mother's side; to being in the thick of the wedding of Isheta Salgaocar to Neeshal Modi — there have been three Modi weddings that the Ambanis have been closely involved with in these past few weeks." We looked at the OTFSH with new found awe. Wow, that's really witty, we said. We will tell our readers.
"Don't forget to give me the credit for it," said the OTSHF before she tinkled her little bell, and said, "Boy zara hot water lao, please."
Lanka comes to India
Ever since we first set foot in Sri Lanka, the emerald-shaped jewel tied to India's apron strings, has enchanted us. From the Geoffrey Bawa imbued architecture, to its robust Burgher cuisine, to the gentle cheerful nature of its denizens so characteristic of island people, Lanka has been one of our favourite destinations. One of the attractions has always been the aesthetic sensibility of Colombo resident Shant Fernando, who through his cafés, home furnishing stores and boutique hotels, has expressed a very strong Sri Lankan aesthetic vocabulary.
Annika Fernando and Maithili Ahluwalia
Why has India rarely matched the flair and organic aesthetics of its much smaller neighbour and couldn't we do with some of it ourselves? Now word comes in, that Mailthli Ahluwalia's concept store has addressed the issue. Two of Fernando's daughters have been engaged by Ahluwalia to collaborate/show on collections.
This weekend saw gallerist and jeweller Saskia Fernando show her line of statement rings and other jewellery at a pop-up store in Bandstand. And later next year, Annika will be bringing her line to Mumbai through Ahluwalia's store. It was an idea waiting to happen: A Lankan and Indian design confluence. Hopefully, we'll import some of the land's easy going attitude too (there's a national holiday every Full Moon we're told).
Too grand to listen?
Oh dear, sources say that the one dark spot at the recently concluded lit fest, a sunshine cornucopia of great minds, wit, music, food and other good things of life, was when these two intellectual grandees appeared to talk right through the speech of a bright, new emerging political star.
What's worse is, that the two — one a celebrated TV anchor and the other a renowned historian — had always appeared to be on the same ideological side as the political cub, i.e. fighting the good fight give or take a few degrees of Marx and Engels. Perhaps they were bored? "More likely a bit jealous," says a fest insider. "After all, he has become something of a rock star amongst similar circles too."
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