The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Oleg Malamuzh
Here's some animated news from Ukraine
Animated films are quite the door to childhood and also a good enough excuse to not grow up. Next week, we'll find a good reason to do so. The Stolen Princess, an animated film directed by Oleg Malamuzh, will be releasing in India — making it the first Ukrainian film to release here in languages that include Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film is family-centric, based on the fairy tale by Alexander Pushkin's Ruslan and Lyudmila.
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The plot revolves around a wandering artist, Ruslan, who dreams of knighthood. He meets Mila, unaware that she is the princess. But things soon take a turn for the worse when sorcerer Chornomor kidnaps her. Ruslan sets out on a rescue mission, with the story woven around a theme that never gets old — the triumph of good over evil. With the movie having done well at the box office internationally, we can't wait to see how it fares in our neck of the woods.
Pick up Garbage
Quashik Mukherjee, a filmmaker who goes by the name of Q, is known to not give two hoots about political correctness. The very title of his debut feature, Gandu, was testament to this. And after making its world premiere in Berlin, his latest venture, Garbage, will hit the city at an independent MAMI screening.
The story revolves around a taxi driver who's a right-wing fanatic spewing venom on social media. He keeps a woman, played by Satarupa Das chained in his basement. And the narrative revolves around how their lives intertwine with that of a woman who is the victim of a leaked sex video, all of which points towards how Mukherjee will play the role of a provocator with this movie as well.
Oh, baby! This chef is turning daddy soon
As news of chef Kelvin Cheung and his wife Andrea expecting a baby boy broke, many were interested in knowing how they found out about the gender, since sex determination is illegal in India. Turns out, the happy couple learnt of the news a month or so ago in Los Angeles, their hometown.
Meanwhile, we also learnt of how Andrea pulled a fast one on Cheung. "One day, she gave me an envelope and made it look as if a brand had sent it along. It contained a calendar and the calculations added up to nine months. I was like, 'Why the hell are these guys sending this now when it's nine months away?' And Andrea just looked at me and said, 'Think'. Then it dawned on me," Cheung told this diarist.
Kerala corner
Food for a cause
When one thinks of India, festivals are considered to be a trademark of sorts — an occasion for people to come together. In Kerala, this is far from a reality this Onam, with the state facing its worst floods in 100 years. With efforts being made across the country to help provide aid to those affected, city chef Sandeep Sreedharan of Curry Tales has decided to host an Onam sadhya to add to the contribution.
"With the situation in Kerala, hardly anyone will be celebrating. We decided to host this so that it gives people a chance to do their bit. They can come to our restaurant this Saturday, eat, and pay whatever they like. The proceeds will then go to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund in Kannur," he tells us.
SRK shows the way
As unprecedented rains wreak havoc in Kerala, several stories of heartwarming gestures are coming to the fore. Academy award-winning sound mixer and designer, Resul Pookutty, who hails from a town near Kollam in Kerala, sent out a series of tweets requesting his colleagues from the film industry to do what they can for the calamity.
Among the first to respond was Shah Rukh Khan, who donated an undisclosed amount for the flood victims. We learnt of it when Pookutty tweeted once again, thanking the King of Bollywood for his "generosity and quick action".
Given that Khan had also contributed Rs 1 crore to the Chief Minister's fund for Chennai's flood victims in 2015, this doesn't come as a surprise. Good deeds, they say, should be done with intention, not for attention. And it seems that the ruler of hearts, King Khan, certainly believes in that.
Working for my dessert
When you are an actor, you need to look perfect even while digging into dessert. Rajjkumar Rao and Mallika Dua get a dab of make-up before a dinner scene at a Goregaon studio. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
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