She's always been legendary for her grace and style, and so when the matriarch of Bollywood's first film family, Krishna Raj Kapoor made a rare public appearance at the DY Patil grounds for an ISL game on Saturday, naturally it was a standout moment for all
Ranbir Kapoor
She's always been legendary for her grace and style, and so when the matriarch of Bollywood's first film family, Krishna Raj Kapoor made a rare public appearance at the DY Patil grounds for an ISL game on Saturday, naturally it was a standout moment for all.
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“It was an important match for her grandson, Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor’s team Mumbai City FC (MUM) as it took on FC Pune City (PUN),” said an onlooker. “And being such a close-knit family, the Kapoors were there in full force; besides Ranbir’s parents Rishi and Neetu, Ranbir’s aunt Rima and her two handsome sons Armaan and Aadhar Jain were all there, giving full support.
Rishi and Neetu Kapoor
But it was Krishnaji’s presence that lent a certain grandeur to the evening, which saw the likes of Nita, Isha and Anant Ambani, Milind and Pooja Deora.”
Krishna Raj Kapoor
And given that Kapoor’s team beat Pune by a rousting 5 -0 that day, it just might mean that Bollywood’s legendary Lady in White (as Raj Kapoor’s wife is known) is Mumbai City FC’s lucky mascot!
Ranbir Kapoor during the ISL match between Mumbai and Pune. Pic/PTI
Diwali parties
According to our sources, this year’s Diwali card parties are dominated by two sets of Mumbai’s social pivots – the builders and Bollywood.
Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty
And as far as the latter is concerned, with Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra’s party being held yesterday, Jitendra, Shobha and Ektaa Kapoor’s on Wednesday and the mother of them all the Bachchan extravaganza on Thursday, there’s enough lights, camera and action to light up a thousand skies.
Avinash Bhosale with wife Gauri
Meanwhile, builders Pujit Aggarwal and Avinash Bhosale, whose parties were hosted this weekend, appear to have got a fair share of glamour too in the festive season.
Social mountaineering, Mumbai ishtyle
Our friend, the astute observer of society’s foibles, frailties and fundaas, was smirking into her newly unwrapped box of Knipschildt Chocolates. “Hmmm,” she said, as she placed her favourite dark chocolate with its famous French black truffle between her lips. (At $250 a pop, it’s available only on a pre-order basis!)
“Hmmm?” we enquired, not wanting to interrupt her moment of pleasure.
“As I was saying,” she said, the delicious morsel muffling her words slightly, “have you noticed the latest trend in social mountaineering?”
“Huh?” we said.
“Have you noticed how these days high-profile weddings have become the happy hunting ground for social climbers?”
“How so?” we enquired.
“Well, time was when on these happy occasions, parties would be thrown for the couple only by those who had been close to the family for yonkers you know?”
“Yes,” we said.
“But now the trend is that amongst the half a dozen or so parties, at least a few will be hosted by people who hardly go back with them a few years. And who most likely do so only to clamber up the social totem pole!” said our friend, on whose patrician features a tiny shadow had fallen.
“It’s so sad,” she continued, as she delicately popped another morsel of chocolate between her famous lips. “What’s society coming to?”
“Yes”, we agreed, as we wondered if another chocolate would be popped, “It’s so sad.”
Fawlty Towers in Mumbai
Which of us, having found ourselves at the receiving end of bizarre and eccentric service at a restaurant or hotel, have not alluded to it being ‘straight out of Fawlty Towers’?
Actors performing Fawlty Towers
Such has been the iconic and enduring legacy of that delightful John Cleese and Connie Booth-created British television sitcom that ever since its airing, it’s become the accepted term for poor service. And last week, a select few in Mumbai had the pleasure of experiencing ‘Fawlty Towers — The Dining Experience’, when theatre personality, Divya Palat brought the West-End hit show to the Taj Lands End.
“I’d watched the show earlier this year in London, and was determined to bring it here,” she said. “And going by the response — I was right! Standing ovations, audiences quoting lines from the TV series and people trying to take on other iconic roles from the original show made it a massive success,” she said.
For the uninitiated, most of the humour in the TV series had been predicated on its three main characters — the pretentious belligerent but hen-pecked Basil Fawlty, his bossy wife Sybil and their diminutive, language-challenged waiter Manuel; and for the dining experience, guests who became a part of the show were waited on by the actors and often became unsuspecting victims of some of their most hilarious gags!
“I definitely plan to bring in many more international shows so that we no longer have to travel to London or New York to catch a world-class production,” says Palat, who is already working on her next comedy ‘The Deconstruction of Our Marriage,’ starring herself and husband Aditya Hitkari.
“Nothing faulty about that plan!” she quips.
Defending Deneuve
“It’s been a steep learning curve. I have had some scary moments,” says Anupama Chopra, noted film critic and Creative Director of this year’s MAMI. “But when I see five hundred people lining up to see ‘Boyhood’, I feel like we are doing something right,” says the impassioned film lover.
Catherine Deneuve and Anupama Chopra
And what’s her take on the presence of the legendary Catherine Deneuve (top), recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement award, along with India’s iconic Helen. Newspaper reports had alluded to the iconic French diva throwing a hissy-fit about being made to share the podium with Deepika Padukone for a Q&A?
Chopra is too experienced a media maven to perpetuate the controversy. “She was elegant and candid in her observations on life in films. I really enjoyed listening to her and Deepika!” she said firmly.
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