Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Siddharth Mallya, Ranveer Singh and Padukone and

Deepika has Sid's blessings
We have been so used to seeing Deep-veer together for over five years, making public appearances hand in hand and blowing kisses to each other at award functions, that we almost forgot that Padukone and Siddharth Mallya once dated each other. Until we were reminded of it by none other than the Kingfisher scion himself.

Among the many congratulatory messages pouring on the actor's social media pages after she posted the wedding date, we saw an understated response from Mallya in the form of a kiss emoticon. Instagrammers, of course, wouldn't let it go, and we saw all sorts of comments on the post including one that said "channa mereya feels", referring to the popular heartbreak song.

Naveen cites collateral damage
Immediately after allegations of sexual harassment against Utsav Chakraborty surfaced on social media, the collective AIB took down every video featuring the comedian. Soon, digital streaming platform Hotstar followed suit by taking down season 2 of Better Life Foundation (BLF), a series Chaktraborty was part of alongside Naveen Richard, Sumukhi Suresh, Kanan Gill and Kumar Varun.

Yesterday, Richard took to Twitter to comment on the impact of the move on BLF whose cast and crew constituted 50 per cent women "all of whom chose to work on this project simply because of what the show meant to them. None of them, or the men on this show, were aware of Utsav's behaviour at the time the show was made," he wrote, adding that while the safety of women at the workplace cannot be compromised, a holistic approach would be one that recognises the efforts of the entire cast and crew.

Raising the roof
Off the Roof, an annual musical fixture, shifted its venue after a short stint at Byculla's Richardson and Crudass a few years ago. PJ Hindu Gymkhana in SoBo is where it is now held, and the place will come alive in mid-November thanks to a power-packed, all-Indian line-up that was revealed on Tuesday.

It includes rap sensations Raftaar and DIVINE, Hindi rock stalwarts The Local Train and Mumbai's very own Madboy/Mink. An all-women act called Ladies Compartment completes the list of performers. It's an interesting venue, so head down there on the day of the event to check out what it's like.

Drama abhi baaki hai
Film promotions now start with poster and trailer launches, and book releases weave in teasers and performances. So why should theatre be bereft of the drama? Ashvin Gidwani's upcoming theatrical production, Devdas, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, is set to be staged next month.

But before that, the play's first look was unveiled yesterday in the presence of Gidwani, director Saif Hyder Hasan, National-Award winning set and production designer Omung Kumar, and the crew and cast, which interestingly includes Smita Jaykar. The veteran actor played Devdas's mother in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's cinematic version of the tragic love story. With Alka Yagnik, Suresh Wadekar and Shaan lending their voice to the production, it promises be a theatrical extravaganza.

A classic reader's fest
With the shuttering of some of Mumbai's iconic standalone bookstores in the past few years, the city's bibliophiles lost their favourite spaces to celebrate books. And barring a few litfests (we sure could do with more), Bombaywallahs do feel the woeful lack of such literary stimulants. Now, publishing house Penguin is bringing down its first ever festival of classics to the city, as part of a month-long initiative across five Indian metros.

This collection by the publishers that began in 1946 is now the largest library of classic literature in the world, covering legends of ancient Mesopotamia, the poetry of World War I to Japanese epics, with 500 authors and 1,200 books. Book lovers will get a chance to savour these titles from November 1 to 30 at Kitabkhana in Fort. "We have dedicated three-fourth of our mezzanine floor to this event. We have ordered the entire range of Black classics and modern classics for this festival," T Jagath, CEO of the bookstore, informed this diarist.

Not without my sister

It's holiday mode for siblings Jhanvi and Khushi Kapoor, who were spotted at the international airport. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

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