Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Pic/Satej Shinde

Lured by the lady in red

A stunning vintage 1964 Impala car at Nariman Point steals the limelight as people pose by it for a selfie.

A grant for freedom of expression

A moment from Bhargav Lahkar's The Caress which won the grant last year

Although the Kashish QDrishti Film Grant has been a boon for short filmmakers since 2015, it was streamlined to specifically support directors and creators from the community last year. It was a move welcomed by many aspiring artistes in the community. We now hear that there is a wonderful bit of news around the grant. Kashish Film festival director Sridhar Rangayan shared with us that the winning amount of the grant has been raised to R2,50,000. He shared that the aim was to enable LGBTQiA+ filmmakers to make films without having to spend their own money or borrow from others. "The first runner-up will also receive R50,000, sponsored by actor Renuka Shahane," Rangayan added. With the call for submissions open till September 18, filmmakers can submit their scripts to the jury online.

Sridhar Rangayan

Nari loses his beloved Doli

Doli Contractor (left) watches BCCI president MA Chidambaram greet her husband, Nari. Pic/mid-day archives

Nari Contractor, the city's oldest living India cricket captain at 88, lost his wife Doli on Sunday. There is a story about Doli that must be told. When her husband was trying to make a comeback to cricket after his skull fracture, suffered on India's 1961-62 tour to the West Indies, Nari's ex-India teammate and the manager on that Caribbean tour, Ghulam Ahmed was worried about him returning to top-class cricket. Ghulam had seen what Nari went through in the West Indies and feared that he would be hit by a cricket ball again. He contacted Doli to tell her that she should dissuade her courageous husband from striving for a comeback. And Doli replied that nothing can stop Nari from doing what he is so passionate about. That he wasn't chosen to wear India Test colours again despite scoring significantly in first-class cricket, is another story. But well said, Doli. In a way, you showed your undying support to Nari.

All that glitters is actually gold

On September 12 and 13, cancer patients marvelled as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai's main building that was lit up in gold to raise awareness about September which is observed as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The children (in pic) were posing at Selfie Point, opposite CSMT as part of the event organised by Access Life, an NGO supporting cancer bravehearts, in Mumbai. Every year in this month, childhood cancer champions advocate for iconic buildings, landmarks and monuments to go golden using lights. Gold is the colour of courage, strength and resilience, aptly the symbolic colour associated with young ones who fight childhood cancer. All power to super kids everywhere, battling the Big C, and through their good fight teaching us what life is all about. For you, may every cloud have a golden lining.

Breaking new ground

BBoy Smooth at the performance. Pic Courtesy/Akash Singh

The breaking competition Young Rebelz by B-boy Tornado concluded last weekend in Kharghar with a never-before-seen category. Tornado shared, "The surprise was a seven to smoke round (one against seven), called Never Give Up, featuring the eight breakers who lost in the Top 16. Sometimes, you try a move and it crashes, but with this category, I wanted to say: don't lose confidence." Some of the winners include Bboy BQuick, Nepal (solo breaking), The Highest Example, Mumbai (crew vs crew), and Lord Prince, Bhopal (solo hip-hop). At the end of the breaking contest, Tornado also announced his new nationwide crew called Young Rebelz.

The return of Singh

Arijit Singh will begin his first cross-country tour in the last three years from Mumbai in November

There are no two ways about the fact that singer Arijit Singh loves performing. But even as live entertainment returned post-pandemic, he had not ventured into any live performances. So we were thrilled to hear that the singer will set off on his first cross-country tour in November this year. Titled One-Night Only - India tour, it will take Singh across the cities of Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and, of course, Mumbai. Sadly, the performance is only for one night in each of the cities. In fact, the Maximum City is where he will kickstart the tour, revealed Varun Khare, business head for live entertainment at Paytm Insider, one of the organisers of the tour. Without revealing much, he added, "His multi-city tour promises to be a unique experience that his fans will treasure." The tour will mark the first cross-country expedition for the Channa mereya singer in the last three years. VG Jairam, founder of Hyperlink Brand Solutions that is partnering the tour, also said that the singer has gained a place in the hearts of music fans. He remarked, "It is a pleasure for us to produce the post-pandemic comeback concert of one of India's most recognisable playback singers." The post-monsoon music season in Mumbai is turning to be quite promising indeed.