Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Traffic Stopper
Malaika Arora crosses the street at Pali Market. And all that those around her can wonder is, will she, won't she (tie the knot)? Pic/Atul Kamble

(From left) Praveen Morchhale, Shazia Iqbal and Anand Patwardhan

Mumbai to LA
The filmy news in India may be about the timing of the release of certain biopics, but this news from abroad comes as an affirmation that good movies continue to be made, however silently. At the recently concluded Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Praveen Morchhale's Widow of Silence won the Grand Jury award in the Features category, while acclaimed filmmaker Anand Patwardhan's documentary Reason won the Audience Award. Shazia Iqbal's short film Bebaak (Dying Wind In Her Hair) won the Audience Award. Here's hoping to see them release soon here.

GoT the Word?
While the social media pages of Mumbai Police have been bringing a smile to our faces with their Game of Thrones-inspired posts for a while now, what we didn't expect to find was a reference to the uber popular show on the Facebook page of the Archdiocese of Bombay. Uploaded well in time for the show's final season's premiere, this image was accompanied by a post that read, "This is no frivolous 'game'. The stakes are high, the battlefield is rife with treachery, and one man fights for the fate of the world." It went on to describe the events that led to Christ's crucifixion, and ended with "Stay tuned, Easter is coming." Posted under #BlockbusterFridays, the series, we hear, has got the attention of many, especially the young. We aren't surprised.

An industry that eats together
It was the soft launch of celebrated chef Rahul Akerkar's much-awaited restaurant Qualia earlier this week, and what warmed the cockles of our heart was to see the way the city's restaurateurs and chefs came together to raise a toast to the new entrant to Mumbai's F&B scene. "Daddy is back with a bang," said Riyaaz Amlani, as he gave us a glimpse into the night, while calling the restaurant sensational. This only bodes well for the foodie Mumbaikar!

Write to pee
Instagram account Diet Sabya (DS) may be popular because of its routine fashion exposés, but that's not all they do. This week, DS put up stories of women across industries who revealed either the pitiful state of their workplace washrooms or their organisation's attitude towards them. They wrote to the account about how washrooms were not segregated according to gender or how, in one case, an authority figure questioned why women in the office use more tissue paper than men. Playback singer Chinmayi Sripaada even applauded DS in a tweet for bringing these stories to light, and wrote, "This also begs the question - why can't people keep toilets clean/ flush/ know not to splash water on floor/ pee on seats?"

Rika ko roka nahin jaa sakta
We had last written about Chandrika Darbari aka Rika in late 2017 when the UK-based singer of Indian origin had released her smash hit, No Need. The song is a straight-up pop track with an infectious chorus, and it was good enough for Rika to be signed on by Virgin EMI, which boasts the likes of Rihanna, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. She was the first Indian-origin teenager to get that recognition, and now, there is another honour that has come her way. Rika has been given the Rising Star accolade at the Asian Awards, a multi-disciplinary pan-Asian event that pays tribute to Asian success from all walks of life. Past winners include Shah Rukh Khan, Irrfan Khan, Yash Chopra and former One Direction singer Zayn Malik. "Being 18 years old and standing up on this stage getting the support I did is a moment I will cherish forever," a justifiably overjoyed Rika said.

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