"If I had a slight inkling, I’d have probably dressed better!" said our former colleague, Jitesh Pillai, the editor of one of the country's oldest film journals, about what he described as the 'mad crazy night!' when his friends threw a surprise party to bring in his 40th birthday
"If I had a slight inkling, I'd have probably dressed better!" said our former colleague, Jitesh Pillai, the editor of one of the country's oldest film journals, about what he described as the 'mad crazy night!' when his friends threw a surprise party to bring in his 40th birthday.
That Pillai, who bears more than a passing resemblance to AR Rahman, and is a particularly likeable teddy bear of a man has many friends is known but that the entire galaxy of stars from Bollywood's Milky Way would descend, was unprecedented.
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(From left) Jitesh Pillai with Preity Zinta, Parineeti Chopra and Sonam Kapoor
So there to squeeze, smooch, hug, buss, cuddle, embrace, clutch and clasp the consummate filmy insider were SRK, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Vidya Balan Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, Karan Johar, Farah Khan, Parineeti Chopra Siddharth Roy Kapur and many many more.
Jitesh Pillai and Sidharth Malhotra
"Best surprise party ever!" gushed the delighted birthday boy about the night when the stars descended. And then the creator of some wittily memorable sentences couldn't help saying "Awesome chawsome".
Jitesh Pillai, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone
DAM its DJ Aqeel
DJ Aqeel Ali has been quite the pioneer in India's nightlife and clubbing scene over the past decade or more. He has had many different avatars in the past as DJ, promoter and nightclub owner and his name has been associated with multiple properties like Hype Club in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.
DJ Aqeel with family and friends at the launch of Sirkus
This week saw Aqeel launch his latest project, a nightclub spread over almost 5,000 sq ft called 'Sirkus' at the Sahara Star Hotel, next to the domestic airport. We spoke to Ali to ask him about his new venture. He said, "I have started a management company called DAM (DJ Aqeel Management) and I run and manage night clubs and bars, handling and managing them right from acquiring the place to designing and managing day-to-day operations, accounts, social media, promotions and sponsorship etc, the whole nine yards" he said.
And we hear the opening party was quite a hit and saw the usual suspects including family members Farah Khan Ali, Suzanne Khan, Zayed Khan and other friends like Esha Deol, Ashish Raheja, Karim Morani, Nitesh Rane and Suhel Seth in attendance. What's more is that we are informed that this is the first of 10 nightclubs he has planned over the country. Will Mumbai's circus flock to Aqeel's Sirkus in the following months? Watch this space!
Almost priceless
"Not giving my Juhu house to any swami. Don't have any swami," said Yash Birla about the report we'd carried about his Juhu mansion yesterday and its imminent future, adding, "the place you are talking of is one floor of a small bungalow, which is around 1,000 square feet, occupied by the Sindhi businessman."
Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, who often visited the Birla House. PIC/AFP
He explained, confirming that whereas there indeed is a bungalow belonging to him in Juhu occupied by a Sindhi gent, the figure alleged to be quoted as a buy-back is disputed. "How can that be worth Rs 40 crore unless it is embellished with diamonds!" said the Birla scion.
Yash Birla
Incidentally Birla's own home, a sprawling bungalow at Malabar Hill, is known to be priceless – given that it was one of the birthplaces of Modern India from when his ancestors extended their support to the country's freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru drove in and out of its winding driveways purposefully.
A moral decision
We are as apolitical as they come. Which is why the words of Brandon Stanton resonated with us.
Brandon Stanton and Donald Trump
The outstanding chronicler of humanity, whose daily output Humans Of New York is one of the brightest spots on the social media landscape, has penned a white hot angry missive to Donald Trump, which we are delighted to note has gone wildly viral given that says so brilliantly what the world feels.
"I've come to realize that opposing you is not a political decision. It is a moral one," says the legendary photo-journalist in this hard hitting letter. We like!
A ray of sunshine
It appears that the Cathedral and John Connon School, which is often at the receiving end for being one of the city's most elite incubators of future movers and shakers, is leading the way when it comes to compassion, social responsibility and sensitivity.
Niall with parents Nico Goghawala and Kamal Sidhu
This weekend saw Niall Goghawala, son of restaurateur Nico Goghawala and model and TV host Kamal Sidhu host a unique and heart warming party for his seventh birthday "At a time when kid's birthday parties are defined by "the bigger, the blingier, the better," Niall chose to celebrate his birthday playing football and video games with a few of his friends and encouraging them to help him share in the joy of giving to those less fortunate yet equally deserving," said Kamal, who organised this heart warming enterprise, a ray of sunshine in the bleak landscape of our times.
Niall gifts shoes to students of The Akanksha Foundation school
"Instead of receiving gifts which senselessly overfill the toy shelves, only to be thrown away by the next spring cleaning, Niall requested his friends to gift him football shoes (with designated sizes) which he could pass forward to players from The Akanksha Foundation school's team, who are without or can't always afford new pairs," she says. "In the process, he met some amazing kids, made new friends and experienced that precious feeling that comes from thinking about the happiness of others, next to your own. The school itself had initiated the thought that we could think out of the box to instil better values amongst our kids"
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