Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Can't face it, Sara?
Sara Ali Khan seems to be shying away from her critics as she is spotted promoting her latest film over the weekend at a hotel in Juhu. Pic/Shadab Khan

Not a friendly response
Ensuring that the story of Ross, Rachel, Monica,Chandler, Phoebe and Joey living in Manhattan stays alive and streaming through 2019, Netflix paid a hefty sum of $100 million - a move that received a thumbs-up from Jennifer Aniston. But the Twitterati isn't taking the news lightly, especially since the money could've been used for other quality content.

The TV world now welcomes more diversity of thought and culture rather than renewing the American sitcom, which currently airs on Indian television channels. One user questioned the move by tweeting, " Is the Friends renewal on Netflix just their way to introduce a new category just called "White Nonsense"?" While some even blamed fans of the show for their "tasteless demands" that forced the streaming company to make the move.

Bonobo makes a comeback
British musician producer Bonobo is returning to India this February for Vh1Supersonic in Pune. But this isn't the first time that Simon Green [as he's known off stage], is going to perform here. His India debut was a couple of years ago, in Mumbai. While the unfortunately super-packed venue back last year made it a little impossible to focus on the music, it did show his growing fan base in India - people had even flown down from Kolkata for the gig.

A Nobel visit
Swedish chef Sayan Isaksson, popularly known for creating the banquet menus for the Nobel Prize was in Mumbai last weekend for a masterclass that was hosted by the Consulate General. The head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Esperanto in Stockholm cooked an all-time Swedish favourite - Salmon. At the event, Isaksson's menu included oven baked salmon puck, fennel and baby carrot crudite with white wine and saffron aioli and shallot crouton.

Masti with all strings
This year, Christmas Eve might be a promising affair at the Juhu venue as a theatre group is all set to make its maiden debut in a unique way. The Maharaja of Mastipur is a show by Guppy Theatre that will combine shadow puppetry, projections, masked puppeteers, live actors and music. The story revolves around a mischievous maharaja from Rajasthan and his minister of pranks, Pranky. And nobody is spared in the kingdom. But we need to head to the show to see what happens when the royalty from England arrives.

Speaking about what sets this show apart, director Anurupa Roy said, "The puppeteer in our show is not hidden. In fact, the puppet and the puppeteer often become actors in the story - a meta-fictive approach that makes, not just the story but, the process of storytelling come to life. Rather than a single screen, the show features a dynamic stage with multiple projections on multiple shadow screens. The puppeteers wear large masks that increase their stage presence and help make their characters more engaging."

The website has tiles of English words that have been inspired by India and have to be matched to their meaning in 90 seconds

Can you beat this clock?
The British Council marks 70 years in India this year. As part of their Inspired by India celebrations, they've put together a website called The 70 Words project that sheds light on English words that have been influenced by our country. According to the website, the initiative was completed in consultation with experts from the Oxford University Press, and the words were selected from the Oxford English dictionary.

A representative of the council told this diarist that the design was created in-house. The interface is simple - click a button, and you're presented with tiles of words and meanings all jumbled up. The task is to match them in 90 seconds that for us, after a single try was manageable. And in comparison to most ideas on the Internet, we think it is a good way to while away your time while learning something new. And we're also glad that they agree that chutney makes most boring meals better!

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