In an age where internecine battles appear to plague business families, the case of the Mistry brothers comes as a silver lining
Cyrus Mistry
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In an age where internecine battles appear to plague business families, the case of the Mistry brothers comes as a silver lining. Apparently when he had accepted the offer to head the Tata empire in 2012, Cyrus Mistry, who had until then been managing director of his family’s billion dollar Shapoorji Pallonji Group headed by his father, had done so with the understanding that he would recuse himself from the family enterprise thereafter, and leave its future stewardship in the able hands of his elder brother, Shapoor Mistry.
It had been a reasonable thing to do. After all, with the Mistry’s owning 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons (valued approximately at $16 billion), and an assured place in history as the group’s second non-Tata Chairman, no one thought Mistry’s exit severe or unreasonable. However, now that the whole Tata-Mistry association has degenerated into one of the bitterest corporate feuds in history, and stories come in that the Mistrys can even be forced to sell their stake in the group, concerns over what Cyrus will do with his time and talent have been occupying business watchers.
“There is no question that he will return to the family empire,” says a source. “One thing for sure is that the Mistrys are thorough gentlemen and men of principal. Cyrus and his brother Shapoor are close and share mutual regard, and Shapoor has been extremely forthcoming and supportive of his brother in these hard times. But for men of principle a commitment is a commitment, and thus we are all wondering what Cyrus will do in the future,” says the source. With his experience, insight and enormous resources, it is a question that has riveted the business community.
Would you buy a used car from this man?
A friend interested in luxury cars is in the habit of periodically receiving pictures of handsome looking on sale specimens from city dealers. Yesterday, when he received this one he was struck by its good looks. On enquiry, he was informed it was an ‘Individual BMW M6 GranCoupe painted in Frozen silver, which had clocked only 4000 km’ . Then his ears pricked up when he was informed who its previous owner had been.
Sachin Tendulkar and the BMW that he wants to sell
None other than master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. “He’s selling it, as he got himself the new 7 Series BMX now,” said the dealer. Our friend still does not know if that was part of the sales pitch. But to sit in the great man’s hot seat - that’s something many would be happy to pay a premium for, we’re sure.
enter Gen Next
“I hope to continue growing Tao, building it on the ethos of my mother, while giving it a more modern approach to put it on the world map!” says Sanjana Shah. It’s the inevitable passing of the baton. As Gen Next steps up to take it’s rightful place in the order of things, news comes in of various families which are ensuring that their legacies carry on.
Sanjana and (right) Kalpana Shah
And in this regard, Kalpana Shah of Tao Art Gallery, is no different. We are informed that this year, her 21-year-old daughter, Sanjana, is all set to curate the17th anniversary show of the high-profile art gallery. We had met the mother daughter duo of all places at Milan Fashion Week at a Fendi show a couple of years ago and had been struck by the young woman’s poise.
She is currently studying at the Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI). “Sanjana hopes to continue her mother’s legacy. Kalpana is not only an artist herself, but her close association with the country’s leading artists like MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta, and SH Raza had ensured Tao’s success,” says a gallery spokesperson.
An offshoot of Camelot
“Hanut and I go back 10 years and we hosted his debut show in 2005. He’s been an annual, and much anticipated figure in the Bungalow8 calendar ever since,” says the store’s angular Maithli Ahluwalia about the off site exhibition she will be hosting along with a fashion magazine later this month to celebrate the Delhi-based jewellery designer’s decade in the field.
Hanut Singh with Shweta Bachchan wearing earrings from one of his previous collections
Hanut happens to be the son of former Union Defence Minister Arun Singh, from the royal clan of Kapurthala, who had been a close confidante the late Rajiv Gandhi and part of his Camelot days. The Singhs are steeped in culture and design, Hanut’s uncle Martand (Mapu) Singh, a protege of Pupul Jayakar, is a noted textile revivalist; his mother Nina, whose fall out with Sonia Gandhi had been the centre of attention during eighties, is also renowned for her exquisite taste.
“I felt that it was important to mark this special occasion to chronicle how his work has evolved over this period,” says Ahluwalia. “Hanut’s not only made an imprint locally but a massive global one with every power broker wearing him,” she says, adding, “Most recently Meryl Streep on two occasions within a week of each other.”
Celebrity cheerleading
Word comes in that man about town, young builder Imtiaz Khatri, who had shot into the limelight as Sushmita Sen’s special friend not too long ago, has a new pet project. “Imtiaz and his friend Rahul Kanal (ex-President of the Youth Congress and now part of Aaditya Thakeray’s Yuva Sena), have jointly invested in the cricket team ‘I Love Mumbai,’ which is playing a tournament at the St Andrew’s Park in Bandra.
Imtiaz Khatri and Tiger Shroff
“Their first match was held yesterday and the winning proceedings are said to be donated to charity,” informs a source. No surprises then, that this week social media is abuzz, with both the young folk’s celebrity friends posting videos wishing them and the team good luck for the match.
Aaditya Thackeray
Those that have come out to support the initiative by sending in videos, include Yuvraj Singh, Kriti Sanon, Tiger Shroff, Manish Malhotra, Athiya Shetty and Aaditya Thackeray. Let’s hope that all that glitzy support on social media helps the team win!
The Moonlight joy
As the world continues to shake its head in disbelief over the monumental blunder at the recently concluded Oscars, news comes in that Lion’s Priyanka Bose had a ringside view of the action.
“epic night unfolded in front of me,” she had texted us last night about the experience. “The goof up with the envelopes was one thing, but the kids of Moonlight were seated right next to me, and to experience that joy with them in that chaos was something else,” she says. Nice!
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