He has been immortalised in the biopic Sanju by actor Vicky Kaushal playing Kamlesh aka ‘Kamli’, Kanhaiyalal Kapas, the endearing yin to Sanjay Dutt’s yang in the form of his old friend from the actor’s wild youth. The endearing ‘Guzzu from the USA’ and his devotion and love for the recalcitrant star son, his rollercoaster life and their poignant reconnect many years later, had made the real life Paresh Ghelani, fondly known as ‘Pariya’, something of a household name in film-going circles. No surprises then that the tech millionaire, now based in LA, has many well-wishers in the film industry starting with the Dutt clan – pictures with various members including Manyata and Priya dot his Instagram posts regularly – or that he is treated like a star in his own right on his visits to Mumbai. Tuesday saw Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty host around 70 of their friends including actor Madhavan, also a close friend of Ghelani’s, and singer Mika Singh at their well-appointed Juhu apartment in the visiting techie’s honour. Interestingly, Dutt himself did not make it to the bash, we are informed. “He’d hosted his own bash for Pariya on Monday night,” informed a source.
That’s what friends are for.

The Maestro Takes London

(L to R) Anand Ahuja, Shekhar Kapur, Lord and Lady Swraj Paul, Ayaan Ali Bangash, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ruchi Ghanshyam, Sudha Murthy and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja.

Monday evening saw the coming together of an eclectic group of prominent Indians at the High Commission of India, London, UK, at Kensington Palace Gardens. Along with high commissioner Ruchi Ghanshyam, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Ayaan Ali Bangash and Amaan Ali Bangash, the evening saw the likes of Shekhar Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Sudha Murthy, Lord and Lady Swraj Paul, and Bangalore-based author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy in attendance. “It was in honour of my father, a day prior to his concert at the Royal Festival Hall with my brother and me,” said Ayaan from London, when we spoke. “All those who attended the reception including Rishi Sunak, the British Conservative Party politician, were in attendee at the concert last night,” he informed. Incidentally, performing at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre, the 2,500 capacity Royal Festival Hall, that too with ticketed sales, is considered the Holy Grail for musicians. Two years ago, the Ustad had performed there and had commanded a full house. For the legendary maestro, who was playing with both his sons after a span of six years in London, it must have come as further validation of the respect he is held in by international audiences as “a player at the height of his inventive powers and currently unequalled”, as the BBC’s Music Magazine recently reported.

Colaba’s New Thai Outpost

Karyna Bajaj

In Thailand, it’s a well-known casual eatery with outposts in the major malls of Bangkok, and its first Indian outpost at Mumbai’s BKC has resulted in a substantial circle of fans. But this week, when Karyna Bajaj of KA Hospitality (which also runs the Indian franchises of successful London-based restaurateur Alan Yau’s Hakkasan and Yauatcha) brings Nara Thai to South Mumbai’s iconic heritage Amarchand Mansion in the heart of Colaba, it will be the true test of the pudding, say foodies. Has she tweaked the menu to service SoBo tastes? “Though signature dishes from Nara Thai at BKC like yum phak boong - crispy morning glory leaves; phu tord prik thai dam - fried pepper crab; and moo sam chan naman hou - pork belly with pak choy, are on the menu, keeping the South Mumbai diners in mind, the menu of Nara Thai, Colaba, features a lot more vegetarian options,” she said, adding, “Along with giving the space a distinct look and feel, we have commissioned expat chef Artittayathon Jantaso to introduce over 30 new dishes,” said Bajaj, who is gearing up for the ribbon-cutting this evening. As for the choice of its location, Bajaj says it was a no-brainer. “We wanted a property that has history attached to it, much like the story of Nara. Like Nara and our company, Amarchand Mansion is an old family-owned property with the same ethos and culture and was an immediate choice for us.” But it’s a move that’s being closely watched, as other restaurateurs will tell you, the property has housed multiple restaurants in the past, including the erstwhile Ellipsis, which have downed shutters in quick succession. Time will tell if Nara will conquer SoBo’s taste buds and change the rules!

He Ain’t Heavy-He’s My Brother

(From left) AD Singh, AY Kumar and AR Singh.

Siblings and their relationships are universally fascinating. The dynamics between those who share a childhood and at least one, if not two parents, reveals much about who we are as people, and for many reasons this is heightened when it comes to twins, those siblings who have also spent nine silent months together in the same womb. Which is why, when India’s leading restaurateur, the high-profile AD (Aditya) Singh, exulted recently about his relatively more low-profile twin brother on social media, it moved many. “My twin brother AR (Arjun) is just finishing running the London Marathon! He’s amazing. I can just about run 2kms and he decided to do it and is about to finish. Makes the whole family so proud,” posted the 59-year-old this week with palpable pride. We had the occasion to meet AD’s marathon-running twin – the MD of a huge financial information company for India – during the period when the flamboyant restaurateur was laid up in hospital, fighting an illness not too long ago. Quieter, with the air of one who’d opted to take a more conventional career path and was content with his choice, he had shown unwavering concern and support for his ailing brother outside the ICU. Nevertheless, for all their differing career choices, AD maintains that the two are “fundamentally very alike”. “Though growing up, he’s always been a better runner and golfer, while I was better at football, hockey, cricket, basketball etc.” recalled the restaurateur. This alikeness, of course, has often resulted in hilarious consequences. “One good story is that we sat together for years and always got the same marks in class. So the teachers shifted us to different sections and immediately we started getting different marks. The teachers smiled knowingly,” laughed AD, who is 14 minutes older. Incidentally, this show of fraternal bonding over AR’s marathon triumph had the twins’ sister Ayesha (AY) Kumar equally moved. “I’ve been just in tears all through,” she remarked, about their brother’s commendable achievement.
Sweet.

First Published: May 02, 2019 01:08 IST