Yesterday, on the occasion of jeweller and society queen Queenie Singh’s birthday, held in Juhu at the newly-opened Soho House, as we had expected, we met a staggering selection of prime Mumbai women: friends from various stages of her life. Here were women from Singh’s early modelling days, when as a striking young Sardarni from a well-heeled Delhi family, she’d landed in Mumbai and taken to the ramp like a fish to water; and her gal pals from her yummy mummy days; her buddies from her marriage days and her confidantes from her divorce days, along with her soul sisters from her present day, as London’s newest society queen. Each one more beautifully turned out and coiffed and shod, with a universe of designers between them and pizzazz to match. Willowy brunettes and fiery red-heads, women in minis and women in skinnies, in six inch Choos and Lucknow chikans and pearls and ponies, lawyers, and divas, devis and dowagers, fashionistas and fashion victims and everything in between. We spotted Suchitra Krishnamoorthi; Sangita Kathiawada; Beverly Soares; Avanti Birla; Zeba Kohli; Rukshana Eisa; Kajal Anand; Kaykasshan Patel; Sheetal Mafatlal; Madhoo Shah; Meena Raheja; Mehr Jesia; Sangita Chopra; Reshma Bombaywala; Aarti Surendranath; Simi Chandoke; Maheka Mirpuri; Gayatri Sinha; Lisa Sadanah; Rhea Pillai; Sharmilla Khanna; Suzanne Pillai; Nina Advani; Nisha Jamvwal; Abha Singh; Kiran Juneja; Farah Khan Ali; Laila Rampal Khan; Poonam Dhillon; Achla Sachdev…and many more, on Singh’s special day as she blew out her candles (no one was counting) with husband Rishi Sethia by her side. Because that’s what prime Mumbai women primarily do: they show up looking like a million bucks, they toast their friends when they’re celebrating something and yes, they stand by each other through thick and thin. Though, to be honest, yesterday afternoon to celebrate Queenie Singh’s birthday, they certainly looked more thin than thick.

New City Landmark

Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal (HT Photo)

The home on Worli sea face that newly-weds Isha and Anand Piramal will inhabit has already become something of a city landmark for its sweeping architectural lines and intriguing faceted domes on its façade, and appears to have captured the public’s imagination. Known as ‘Domes’ in common parlance and by the name ‘Bauhaus’ by a few more artistically-inclined socialites, (an allusion to the modernist German art school, which had such a profound influence upon developments in design, art and architecture, between the two World Wars), it has become a cynosure of all eyes. Alleged pictures of the interiors, of Swati and Ajay Piramal’s gift to the young couple, have been doing the rounds this week, and if they are indeed authentic, demonstrate a strong bias towards local arts and crafts, juxtaposed with clean lines and a preference for whites and beiges. Previously called Gulita, when it has been a bungalow purchased by Ajay Piramal, the sumptuous pile with a commanding view of the Arabian sea is said to be now called ‘Karuna Sindhu’, according to sources, which roughly translates to ‘River of Empathy’. Its construction is said to have been completed in record time and it is an engineering marvel. And if the same sources are to be believed, the ambitious Reliance Convention Centre at BKC is also being constructed in record time to coincide with the next big wedding in the family – in March!

Another Tiny Superstar?

Taimur Ali Khan (IANS)

Move over SRK, we might just have an even tinier megastar in our midst than your upcoming Zero! And it’s none other than Bollywood’s rising toddler, with his own fan following, Taimur Ali Khan! We kid thee not, but yesterday, we received a press note from a PRO with the subject matter as ‘Taimur Ali Khan Styled South African Vacations’ and which began with, ‘Bollywood’s favourite Nawab is growing up, and how! The delightful and charming Taimur Ali Khan, will turn all of two years old on December 20. And to ring in his birthday, mommy Kareena Kapoor and daddy Saif Ali Khan, are all set to take the little one to sunny South Africa. Cape Town, in South Africa, is well-known for its wildlife offerings and the little Nawab is ready to witness it firsthand’, it goes on to say, adding, ‘We can’t wait to see images of prince Taimur with the big cats in South Africa, on social media’. The only plausible explanation for it all could be that the charismatic tot is related, through his father, to former cricketer and wildlife conservationist and entrepreneur Saad Bin Jung of the erstwhile royal lineage of Bhopal and Pataudi, who runs a tented camp on the backwaters of the Kabini down south, and who, along with his wife Sangeeta, has been taking guests on African Safaris. Perhaps, Taimur Ali Khan is only on a family vacation. Either that, or SRK better watch out, because his pint-sized competition in the endorsement stakes, might have just entered the scene.

Separated At Birth?

Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj, film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer and recipient of seven National Film Awards in four categories

Rajeev Masand

Rajeev Masand, avid film buff, and critic, and Entertainment Editor of a news channel

First Published: Dec 20, 2018 00:40 IST