Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Now, a cosplay champ too
Those who are often spotted at Comic Con India events in capes, Joker smile smudges or with Spidey masks have a reason to cheer. The pop-culture convention has announced the first Indian Championships of Cosplay (read: costume play), in a bid to encourage local cosplayers to go professional and boost the cosplay culture in India, already popular in the West.

Vidhi Pareek aka Nightingale, grand prize winner at Delhi Comic Con 2015 is one of the nominees

From Wonder Woman to Ghost Rider and even Dr Otto Octavius (who wears 11-feet long tentacles), 10 participants - the winners of Cosplay contests in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad - have been nominated to compete in the championship.

The winner, who will be announced on January 26, based on audience votes on comicconindia.com/ICC (voting closes on Jan 24), will get to represent India at the Annual Crown Championships of Cosplay at Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo.

In the mood for a foodgasm?
Kapil G, a real estate financial analyst was tired of the preservative-laced food served in the city.

Kapil G

With the aim to serve natural, healthy fare to Mumbaikars, we hear that Kapil will be opening his outlet, Foodgasm atBandra Reclamation on January 22.

A dekko of what health freaks can expect at Foodgasm

Expect fresh flavours (they will make their own ketchup too) and an earthy ambiance, with tables and caricatures on the wall. Kinky name apart, we'd love to check out what's cooking here.

It takes two

Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and santoor exponent Rahul Sharma exchange notes at a performance last evening.

Star, power and the pen
TV journalist Barkha Dutt and actress Kangana Ranaut are all ears as former union minister P Chidambaram releases Dutt's first book, The Unquiet Land: Stories from India's Fault Lines.

Pic/Bipin Kokate

The release of the book, a first-hand account of her experiences at the front-line of television reporting that pans over two decades, was a power-packed event at a SoBo five-star last evening.

Le Child
Your pot-bellied diarist is actually, in a parallel universe, Jack Reacher. So the first thing we noticed on entering this popular mill-land watering hole last night was two swarthy bodyguards - all miked up, holstered and flak-jackets under T-shirts two sizes too small - piling on plates full of meat, chasing it with Diet Coke.

A dated photograph of Ruchir Modi, son of Lalit Modi. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Antenna - Reacher's obviously. Ours is tuned to the singular purpose of finding the closest route to the bar - up, the room was properly scanned only to find a downcast Ranvir Shorey. He, we have on good authority, was merely nursing a snub suffered at the Bully Pulpit News Studio in the same compound.

Turns out he was called to comment on Kiku Sharda's arrest and, unsurprisingly, not allowed to speak a word by you know who. So who were the two Tommy Tacticals watching over? The answer lay several tables away. Ruchir Modi, son of the exiled Lalit, was having a good time with his friends and loud, pale-skinned companions.

But why would even he need guards with weapons on the draw, presumably hot? A crusty old waiter enlightened us. Ever since he had a drink thrown at him for his father's alleged sins several years ago - as exclusively reported by this paper - young Modi has been accorded additional security.

Only, at the distance the two chunks of meat were tailing him, even Reacher couldn't save Junior from any threat, leave alone a chucked drink. Is papa listening?

Going the full stretch

Pic/Swarali Purohit

Riteish Deshmukh, a part of the celebrity team Mumbai Heroes at practice for the ongoing Celebrity Cricket League at Goregaon Sports Club.