Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

Kangana Ranaut

If looks could kill
Actor Kangana Ranaut seems pleased with the mannequin that carries her look from her upcoming film at a bash held in a Khar restaurant on Tuesday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

What's in a name?
Things like name, age and gender truly are just markings to tick off on a label. But somehow they become a part of your identity.

And there's nothing quite like the thrill of spotting your name plastered on an auto rickshaw while stuck in a traffic jam.

For Gul Panag, who was recently in her home state of Punjab, it was Panag all the way, when the actor-entrepreneur noticed her surname on a tractor and the back of a bullock cart in Sirhind Fatehgarh Sahib. "You know you're home, when the local transport has your name on it," she mused.

A century of wellness
The Yoga Institute in Mumbai that claims to be the oldest organised centre of yoga in the world, is turning 100 this week. And to celebrate the milestone, the institute will organise a two-day wellness event called the Harmony Fest, which will be inaugurated by President Ramnath Kovind.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Dr Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra, director of the institute and Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao at the inaugural ceremony of the centennial celebrations in 2017

Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidyasagar Rao, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also be present at the occasion.

President Ramnath Kovind

The event will feature a good food festival with celebrity chef Ranveer Brar as a special invitee. An expert session with nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar is on the cards as is a series of performances by Shankar Mahadevan, Rekha Bhardwaj and outfits including Dharavi Rocks and Indian Ocean.

Filmmaking lessons from Mira Nair
A lot of one-hour sessions with experts pass off as masterclasses today. But for a deep dive in any subject, you need more than 60 minutes - something that filmmaker Mira Nair aims to help up-and-coming talents with in her recent collaboration with a web-based paid platform that offers online lessons by experts from diverse fields including Margaret Atwood, Dan Brown, Carlos Santana and Gordon Ramsay.

She has recorded 17 lessons on independent filmmaking, where she shares her methods for directing powerful performances, maximising budgets, and bringing authentic stories to life. "The first thing I'd tell an aspiring filmmaker is to educate yourself, be permeable to what is around you, with humility and an ability to see yourself in [the subjects'] world so that their world trusts you," Nair says in a lesson.

Real soap opera
Only readers of a certain vintage will remember the dashing Vinod Khanna, clad in double denim and riding a horse on a beach, endorsing Cinthol soap in the early '80s. But Godrej, the iconic brand's parent company, had launched the "body confidence soap" all the way back in 1952. In fact, when Godrej entered this particular industry in 1918, it became the first company in the world to manufacture a vegetable oil soap.

Now, this rich legacy is on full display at an exhibition called Soap Opera in the city that's meant to celebrate 100 years of Godrej Soaps Ltd, an achievement one should, well, shower praise on.

Because it's Christmas
It's Christmas-time and if you pass by director Omung Kumar's Andheri residence, you won't miss the joie de vivre in the air. Apart from decked up Christmas trees in the bungalow, the railings, terrace and backyard are swathed in festive colours.

"The season of Christmas is a huge favourite for both, my wife Vanita and I. Vanita loves Christian art," says Kumar, referring to the Christmas-themed decor of the house, including these slim Santa figurines. "We even have a sleigh with reindeers. It's not to show off but to get in the warmth," he adds.

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