Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Glam as glam can be

If you want a definition for jet-set, here it is: no sooner had she touched down in India early this week was international fashionista and philanthropist Natasha Poonawalla already on her speed dial, making calls to invite friends for what is said to be the mother of all parties at her Mumbai mansion in SoBo, for newlyweds Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja this weekend. “As is known, Poonawalla could not attend their wedding celebrations as she was in the USA to attend the Met Ball, where her appearance on the red carpet in a bespoke couture Dolce and Gabbana gown is said to have put many a star in the shade,” says a source. “So, she decided to host a party to continue the celebrations.” The Poonawalla mansion, recently refurbished under her instruction, houses a staggering collection of European and Indian masters, including Van Goghs and Picassos, and rarely throws open its doors for a party on this scale, its residents preferring to host smaller, more intimate groups. The last one had been in honour of Tina Brown and her Women In The World Series. What’s making this one a big-ticket affair is that not only is all of Bollywood expected to roll up in the stipulated dress code of ‘Glamorous’, but that the invitation has been issued in the glam hostess’ name alone. “Husband Aadar is traveling on work, but even so, it is a nice nod in the direction of female empowerment,” said the source. “Hope more of Mumbai’s divas have the confidence to follow suit.”

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

(Left) Anil Dharker and (right) Margaret Atwood.

Anil Dharker: Erstwhile Indian editor, one-time TV critic and host, popular columnist and founder and director of LitLive, a festival that celebrates authors and books, held in November every year, and which holds literary events throughout the year in different locations in Mumbai.

Margaret Atwood: Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist, inventor, teacher and environmental activist who has published 17 books of poetry, 16 novels, 10 books of non-fiction, eight collections of short fiction, eight children’s books, and one graphic novel, as well as a number of small press editions in poetry and fiction.

WTS WTM

What They Say: “He told Theresa May that UK courts asking about the condition of Indian jails in Vijay Mallya’s case is not right, as these are the same prisons where they had jailed our leaders like Gandhi and Nehru.”

— Sushma Swaraj to the media recently on what PM Modi said

What They Mean: “And he meant the exact same prisons which the British had built over a century ago! So much for development.”

A TOUCH OF BRIGHTNESS

(LtoR) TV star Tara Sharma and her father late Partap Sharma.

In these days of gloom and doom, a touch of brightness: word comes in that the path-breaking play, ‘A Touch of Brightness’, written in 1965 by the late thespian, voice-over artist, author and alpha-male Partap Sharma, will be the opening reading at a festival celebrating South Asian Playwrights at the Royal Court Theatre in London this evening. As might be recalled, the play, set in Mumbai’s red light district, had become a cause célèbre when it was banned by regressive forces, and legal luminaries like Soli Sorabjee and Iqbal Chagla had argued eloquently for its freedom of expression. The original cast had featured Zohra Sehgal and Roshan Sheth amongst others, and the radio version produced soon after had no less than Dame Judi Dench as its protagonist along with music by Ravi Shankar! “Wish Dad was here to hear of this honor,” said Sharma’s daughter, the actress and TV star Tara Sharma who along with husband, ad filmmaker Roopak Saluja and her mother Sue, will be present for the occasion. “But, I truly believe legacies such as this, and love and family, keep him alive and present with us,” she added.

Indeed.