Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

Pic/Shadab Khan

Pose in the moment

Ignoring her upturned umbrella, a mother waits to take a picture of her child at Carter Road in Bandra.

Raga on the ramp

Members of The Bombay Choir

It was raga magic at the Bridal Couture show recently hosted by Manish Malhotra at a Bandra Kurla Complex venue. While Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt played showstoppers with élan, it was The Bombay Choir that lent a musical touch to the proceedings. Jayesh Shah, founder of Glowshow Entertainment, who manages the band, shared, "The setlist was based on the theme of bridal couture. The idea was to keep it royal and elegant," he remarked. Despite the event featuring some high profile names from Mumbai's famed film industry, Shah noted that they did not want to focus only on Bollywood music.

Shah with Manish Malhotra

"We went with a curation that featured fusion, some classical alaaps and chorus elements," he shared. From O re pia and Tere bina to Mausam and Escape for Ranveer Singh, and Madhaniya for Alia Bhatt, the band rehearsed in the morning. The climax was another matter. Ranveer Singh requested to end the show on a high, and so the band had to improvise. "After all, we wanted the perfect finish," Shah concluded.

See you, Tomorrowland

Sahil Verma at a gig

Mumbai-based DJ Sahil Verma made a mark on the global stage at the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium. Yesterday, Verma aka ADGRMS performed at the largest electronic dance music festival in the world that has featured names such as David Guetta and Aviici in the past. Admitting that it was a dream come true, he shared, "Being one of the few from India to achieve this, and especially as an independent artiste, is something I deeply cherish." As for the setlist, Verma never really prepared one. "I never like to prepare a fixed one. Instead, I trust my instincts and read the room, the crowd, and the stage to deliver a set that feels right in the moment," he said.

The jokes will move elsewhere

Founder Pankaj Sharma speaks on the closing night of JSpot

The business of comedy is no joke, and needs to be taken seriously. For fans of stand-up comedy, and for stand-up comics, the news of the Bandra hub of The J-Spot shutting doors this week came as a blow. Founder Pankaj Sharma confirmed that the venture will only relocate to another location. "We are on the lookout for a new venue to host our events. For now, this week was the last show at the Bandra venue," he shared. A new enterprise came in with a better offer to the owners than they could match, said Sharma. While fans might be disappointed, Sharma is already on the hunt. "We hope to find a bigger space for the audience; this time closer to Bandra's buzzing venues," he said.

Pink parade in grey Mumbai

A moment from the trailer. Pic Courtesy/YouTube

A shaft of pink broke through the city's gloomy landscape as Barbie released in theatres yesterday. This diarist decked up in pink, hopped on to the bandwagon and caught the first day, first show at a SoBo cinema hall. One by one, fans - both boys and girls - trickled into the hall dressed in pink overalls at 9.40 am on a Friday morning.

Barbie fans at Sterling Cinema near CSMT

Our favourite pick was a t-shirt that had both Oppenheimer and Barbie illustrations. When we prodded the proud owner, he told us that he had already watched Oppenheimer at 12.30 am! "Barbie is definitely the winner," he declared. While we're yet to catch Oppenheimer, we found Barbie fast-paced and packed with details. The casting and outfits, nonetheless, win our vote.

Mediterranean on the top

Keeping count of new culinary openings across the city and its suburbs is a tough ask for this diarist. The latest one is the new rooftop dining space, Nomi in Andheri by restaurateurs Karan and Kaushal Shah that opens doors to the public today. After a string of establishments such as Vice, South Bombay Bar and Zerua, this space will offer a distinctly Mediterranean vibe, said Karan Shah, partner.

Karan Shah

"The interiors draw inspiration from the Pyramids of Giza and Tel Aviv to add to its elegant ambience," he remarked. With a menu influenced by cuisines from across six countries as well as pasta sheets created in-house, we'll keep our ears to the ground to see if this rooftop space becomes a prominent player in price-sensitive Andheri.