The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Sameer Markande
Jumping into the weekend
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Students hop over an iron grill on the road outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
When East Indian meets rap
Musician Maxwell Fernandes and rapper Yung Clyde
Who would have imagined that East Indian lyrics and Afro beats could be fused together? Musician Maxwell Fernandes and rapper Yung Clyde have remixed a song that does exactly this. “We came across a reel by artiste Nishant Bhat, where he was singing in Marathi with lyrics like ‘Aaicha gavat, bara chya bhavat, vadapav khala kai?’ with African artistes. So, I decided to give it an East Indian spin,” Fernandes told this diarist, who got Clyde to write a verse for this. “I wanted to make it sound fun, so I wrote an entire verse in East Indian Marathi. We’ve been surprised by the love and positivity that the song has received,” said Clyde.
Reimagine Devdas in our times
Somya Kautia and Gia Singh Arora. Pic courtesy/Abir Kasat
Who isn’t aware of or hasn’t watched the intense, dialogue-heavy movie Devdas that was adapted from the eponymous 1917 Bengali novel? Performing artistes Somya Kautia and Gia Singh Arora will host a week-long workshop Harkat Studios which will reimagine Devdas, not the movie, but the book. “In the workshop, we will discuss how to use body and movement, among other aspects, to deliver a performance. You will reinterpret a modern Paro, Chandramukhi of Devdas, but the interpretation has to be a result of personal experiences. You should be able to connect with Devdas, if that’s the character you pick for yourself,” Arora told this diarist, adding, “If you wish to say ‘Hi’, you cannot just wave your hand. You must feel yourself, understand and express the same via movement.” The workshop will culminate in a final performance on August 20 that’s open to all.
Keen to go by Prajakta Koli’s word?
Content creator, actor and climate activist Prajakta Koli, has one more feather in her cap. The popular YouTuber is now turning writer with her fictional debut called Too Good To Be True. “I began writing on April 30 and it’s been a journey spanning into August 10. Looking back, it’s been quite a significant amount of time. Currently, I have about seven to 10 more days of writing left,” she told this diarist, and added that in her book, it’s the charming romance between Aman and Avani that Koli loves, and how they first met. The new writer has always been a fan of love stories and romance, and hopes that her perfectly paced slow-burn contemporary romance novel will be received well by the readers, when it releases in summer next year.
The story behind Bombay Dyeing’s desi James Bond
Ardhendu Bose enacts the role of a suave spy in the 1970s ad for Bombay Dyeing. Pics courtesy/Youtube
Few models leave a mark that lasts for generations to come. City-resident Ardhendu Bose, who passed away earlier this week was among the faces that defined charming suavity for a generation in the decade of the 1970s. Bose’s iconic Bombay Dyeing ads featured him as an Indianised version of Ian Fleming’s spy. Adman Prahlad Kakkar recalled the days of shooting with Bose as a ‘wild few weeks’. “We had cheetahs, helicopter stunts and speedboats,” recalled Kakkar. Bose’s charm and elegance made him a good fit. Describing him as a man about town, Kakkar said, “He loved people and good food. But he was not a boisterous person, and was relatively quiet. He was a great clotheshorse and the perfect James Bond.” While food is a predictable passion for any Bengali, Kakkar shared, “He was very particular. He loved the shorshe maach, like any good Bengali.” He can rest in peace knowing that legacy of culinary love seems to be well protected with his son, Neville Bose’s Malido Café in Kala Ghoda.
Prahlad Kakkar
You do not have a ticket to ride
John Abraham appears in a campaign released for World Elephant Day (August 12), today. The campaign draws attention to the suffering of elephants used for tourist rides. Celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani worked with the former People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India Person of the Year to create the image, which he has donated to PETA India. “Working in entertainment should involve consent, and be a joy, but elephants who are forced into this industry are taken from their families, beaten, shackled, and abused,” said Abraham. “My friends at PETA India and I encourage everyone to avoid elephant rides.” We say if this goes some way in raising awareness and bringing down elephant rides, that is something Abraham and team can blow their trumpet to. Truly, haathi hamaare saathi.
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