The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
One for the furballs
That actors Richa Chadda and Kalki Koechlin are animal lovers in well known, considering their vocal support for stray adoption. The Jia Aur Jia co-stars have now teamed up with rap artiste Sofia Ashraf for a fun music video as part of the series, Sista from The South, on Culture Machine's Blush channel. Titled Burstin' On Diwali, the video urges people to spare a thought for their furry friends and refrain from bursting crackers.
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The peppy track offers a list of options with quirky lyrics that go, 'burst a balloon or burst on stage, burst stereotypes that haven't aged...' "We also sourced a dog and cat to star in the video. They're strays sourced from World For All, and up for adoption," said Ashraf.
A new chapter
She became famous overnight, but under truly tragic circumstances. Mumbaikar Nidhi Chaphekar's bloodied face is the image that captured the horror of the Brussels terror attack last year. Some might find it lucky to escape a near-death situation, but when 31 others die around you, the trauma can linger.
That's what happened with the Jet Airways stewardess and now, she will pen her story in a book that look at the psychological and physical implications of dealing with a tragedy. The book will be out in February 2018 and is published by Amaryllis. In it, Chaphekar will also delve into how love from the family and friends can help overcome an adversity.
A slice of Mumbai in Sharjah
The season of literature festivals is upon us. While the city awaits its first lit event to kick off later next month, the upcoming edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair might make attendees from Mumbai feel they never stepped out of the city.
As has been the trend with most events of this kind, this one, too, features a heavy dose of Bollywood, with the guest list featuring actors Asha Parekh, Hema Malini and R Madhavan and veteran poet-lyricist Gulzar. Politicians speaking at the event include Jairam Ramesh and Derek O'Brien.
Tiger for tigers?
Amidst all his posts on trailer launches and film releases, we came across an unusual tweet by actor Salman Khan. With a picture of the newly launched book, Silent Sentinels of Ranthambhore by actor, politician and photographer Bina Kak, Khan wrote, "'Tigers bahut kam zinda hain'. Bina baji... has written and shot amazing pics in the book.
Kamaal karti ho." We would have taken this as an actor promoting a colleague's work, but the next day, he tweeted a poster of his upcoming film, Tiger Zinda Hai. What a let down.
Tackling the 'R' word
Someone had once told us, "Patriotism breeds racism." While we are still unsure about the veracity of that statement, it can't be denied that a fair bit of persecution in human history has its roots in geographical divisions. This theme will be explored in a play that will be staged in the city next month. It's written and performed by Natasha Marshall, an award-winning young British playwright, and is called Half Breed, an allusion to Marshall's own mixed-race upbringing.
The UK-based Soho Theatre is bringing the play to Mumbai and David Luff, a producer with the company, hopes that the performance will touch people's hearts "in a world of rising nationalism and intolerance".
Was he making a caustic political statement here? The nation wants to know.
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