Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

A clean start: With fuel prices rising, this prudent man chooses to get his bicycle spruced up in Ballard Estate on Thursday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

A life on film

Amit Dutta

One of the most important figures in experimental cinema today, Amit Dutta's films will be screened at an online festival starting this weekend. The seven-day event titled An Auteur's Palette, to be held from February 20 to 27, is being hosted by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA). About the significance of the event, Roobina Karode, director and chief curator, KNMA, shared, "Dutta is a conscientious filmmaker who catches the pulse of our time, presenting themes of art's historical relevance through a personal and exploratory style. The subtle nuances in films like Nainsukh (2010) or How Not to Do Philosophy (2020) - one of his most recent works - are memorable. We are delighted to present his films to a diverse set of audiences through organised online screenings." Visit knma.in to watch these gems.

This NGO is trying to play its art

Jigyasa Labroo (centre) helps children hone their creativity

The lockdown took a heavy toll on the NGO sector. Slam Out Loud, which employs art to instil a sense of creativity in children from lower-income families, was one of the affected organisations. They have now started a fundraising drive with a series of events called Unmute India, and after hosting one on storytelling; they are presenting one on poetry featuring people of the calibre of Varun Grover and Hussain Haidry. "We have raised '27.5 lakh so far and aim to raise '80 lakh in total," said founder Jigyasa Labroo. Log on to milaap.org/fundraisers/slam-out-loud to do your bit.

A melodious start

Still Space Theatre group has started a series of workshops, and the next one encourages participants to bring out the latent musician in them. Vasu Dixit of the group Swarathma will host the eight classes spread over four weeks, and he shared, "The main idea is that there is a song in every one of us." He added that he will help people realise this basic fact and then work on it. He will also teach participants the rudiments of shooting a music video. So, even if you are a bathroom singer, write in to stillspacetheatre@gmail.com.

Hoskote seeks poetic justice

There is still solace left in poetry when nothing seems to make sense anymore. And these are unprecedented times when everything that we took for granted has suddenly been turned upside down. Ranjit Hoskote's upcoming book of poems, Hunchprose (Penguin India), tries to respond to not just the ecological or socio-political crises that we are facing at the moment, but also the one that the language of English itself is grappling with in changing times. "How does poetry speak for and about the world at a time when there are so many dominant claims on your attention? That's what I am concerned with," Hoskote shared. Pre-order the book now from kitabkhana.in to get a copy signed by the poet.

The Empire strikes back for Anuvab

Stand-up comedian Anuvab Pal had some exciting news to share, when he revealed on social media that he is working on a sitcom for BBC Radio 2, called The Empire. Elaborating more, he told this diarist that the show is set in Darjeeling in 1911. It's loosely inspired by his uncle, who was a district magistrate in a province in Bengal. "He would go nuts dealing with the day-to-day problems of the locals, and I thought to myself, ‘If a Bengali man struggled in that manner, how hard must it have been for the English district magistrates.' So, I wanted to write a Yes, Minister kind of show based in Darjeeling," he shared. Pal added that the mercurial Stephen Fry is playing the role of the Viceroy of India, while Alex Owen will essay the role of the protagonist. The show launches in March, and we will keep an ear open for it.