Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

A Cute Angle

A young girl contorts to click a selfie at the Gateway of India

There is a new Alter in town

If the actor playing Mike Gomes in The Archies reminded you of someone else, it was because it is Jamie Alter, son of the legendary Tom Alter. Jamie actually is a journalist and sports writer. When asked if he always wanted to act, Jamie replies in the negative. "No, there was never any such thought or plan. If I had wanted to become an actor, I would have attempted this after college some 20 years ago. It all happened by accident, pretty much, and since 2019 I have been fortunate that a few offers have come my way. The challenge has been to juggle my career as a sports journalist with the various acting opportunities that I have gotten," Jamie tells this diarist. He has also shot for a major YRF film (which will be out next year), a Kannada film and a couple web series, but his first official Hindi film to be released is The Archies. Jamie recalls growing up on film sets, in studios and green rooms, and on outdoor locations. "Like film television and theatre were a constant presence in my life, so was sport, since my father was a very passionate sportsman. So, it was natural that I would gravitate towards one of the two fields. I could not play any sport at a high level, so I chose the next best thing: to become a sports journalist."

Merv Hughes' four-year love affair ends!

Big Merv Hughes is well-travelled. The Australia pace bowler of the 1980s and 1990s is often seen in the stands when Australian play overseas, as he is part of a tour group. Now, we assume that Merv's Crocs travelled with him. By Crocs we don't mean those mean reptiles, but his favourite footwear. When he recently bid goodbye to his pair which lasted four years, social media consumers came to know about it. The man with the most famous moustache in cricket, tweeted earlier this week: "Well today indeed is a sad day!! I've gotta say goodbye to these fellas - my formal crocs - it's been 4 years of travelling everywhere together. You have been my rock-you have supported me wherever we have travelled but alas you have grown too thin in your soles to support me anymore!" His followers came up with interesting reactions that centred around ‘grieving.' But our in-house cricket nut wondered why didn't he offer it to the people who run a museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And if that wouldn't turn out to be a welcomed item, he could have even put it out for sale on eBay and donated the sale amount. Don't chuckle at the second option. Our man seriously thinks some cricket memorabilia suckers would have been interested in them if autographed by their favourite former fast bowler from Melbourne. Merv always wanted to show he could bat, but he'll welcome a new "pair" all the same.

A rousing win for art

Celebrations are in order for the gallery Experimenter. Founders Prateek and Priyanka Raja (in pic) are among the "100 Most Influential People" listed by Art Review magazine this year. The couple has steadily risen up in the ranks, going from 86 in 2020 to 62 in 2023. The magazine spotlighted the political sensibility of the gallery's programming "which privileges intellectual rigour and experimentation over sales". "We're humbled and honoured to be on the list. We see this as recognition for the many art practices and artists working in South Asia and for all our colleagues," Priyanka tells mid-day. The gallery's Colaba outpost is in its second year, while its presence in Kolkata now spans 15 years. "We look forward to a busy January with five different projects, including Sohrab Hura opening at Colaba and Afrah Shafiq and Alexandra Bachzetsis's debut solos in our Kolkata galleries."

Makin' mommy proud

Tiana Tara

Tiana Tara, daughter of theatre actress and socialite Anju Chulani and orthopaedic doc Farhad Taraporevala, is set to release her new single, Undeniable. The song captures the reality of modern-day relationships and situationships, which are a game of chase-and-conquer. "Undeniable is a song about the unrelenting hold that another person can have over you," the 28-year-old says. "The inspiration for the song came about after being involved with someone who was emotionally unavailable, and all the mind games that come with a relationship like this." Tara has collaborated with Sticky Twigs, an old friend who is also a guitarist. She says she approaches songwriting depending on the mood she's in, and layers the chords and rhythms over that feeling. "Authentic self expression and storytelling are paramount to my songwriting process. We wanted to write a song that was catchy as well as made the audience feel a connection to it, and it feels great to hear from people who loved it!" she says.

Channelling the Animal, the right way

The recently released Animal has been getting a lot of hate for its glorification of misogyny but for Bengaluru-based Prapthi Mahendranath, it led to her having the best birthday ever on Saturday. The 34-year-old public policy consultant had been seething at the massive collections that the film has been making at the box office, but the scene where Ranbir Kapoor's character talks about women "only having to change pads four times a month" was the clincher for her. "It just shows how little men know about women and women's health, so I decided to channelise the people's sentiment. I posted a tweet, asking people to donate the cost of the film's ticket towards sanitary pads and other essentials for women and girls who had been victims of domestic or sexual abuse. To my utter delight, within 24 hours, people from all over the country donated around R40,000!" she tells this diarist. This fundraiser is now closed, but Prapthi is all over social media, and always on the lookout for more public service opportunities. You know where to find her!