The launch of 'Paiso, how Sindhis do business,' by Mala Bhathija, saw many of the community's better known denizens gather at a mid-city five-star over the weekend. Seen on the occasion were Jitendra Virmani, Shailendra Singh and Kailash
The launch of 'Paiso, how Sindhis do business,' by Mala Bhathija, saw many of the community's better known denizens gather at a mid-city five-star over the weekend. Seen on the occasion were Jitendra Virmani, Shailendra Singh and Kailash and Aarti Surendranath amongst others.
Jitendra Virmani, Shailendra Singh and Harish Fabiani
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Paiso traces the success stories of five leading Sindhi business clans across the world, including that of Gary and David Harilela of the Hong Kong-based Harilela Group, renowned for their hotel chains, and Dilip Kumar V Lakhi, head of Lakhi Group, one of the biggest diamond suppliers in the country. The launch saw a representative from each of the five families being invited on stage to address the audience amidst much nosh and bubbly.
"A lot of money and negotiations took place in the room," quipped Shailendra Singh later about the occasion, alluding to the community's reputation for being money wise. Singh himself is not a Sindhi. "My wife is one, so this was my first experience and explosion to the world of Sindhi Paiso," he laughed, explaining his presence at the launch, whose hashtag was #ItsAllAboutMoneyHoney."
A real, warm and quietly funny story
"As an artist, I'm restless and need variety in the themes that interest and resonate with me, and the Primetime Theatre Company is largely interested in promoting Indian writing and platforming 'our stories and voices'," says Lillette Dubey, whose latest directorial venture 'Salaam, Noni Appa' based on Twinkle Khanna's delightful short story on an autumn romance from her 'The Legend of Laxmi Prasad', will kick off its nationwide tour this week from Bangalore.
The cast of 'Salaam, Noni Appa'
"I read the story and found it real, warm and quietly funny, with sharp insights about the minutiae of everyday life and relationships, and I felt like performing too in a piece that resonated with me in terms of life stage and age," says Dubey, who also stars in the production about the tender and often hilarious relationship between a mature widow and her sister, at a time when one of them finds herself falling in love with a younger married man, and says its author was completely hands-on.
Twinkle Khanna
"Twinkle was involved from the start and was excited about a stage version. She has seen drafts of the script and is happy with the final version, where we have tried to stay true to her story with some additional dialogues and a couple of small new scenes," she says. 'Salaam, Noni Appa' also stars Darshan Jariwala and Jayati Bhatia and has been adapted by Adhir Bhat. The first public show in Mumbai will take place in early November.
Dancing queen
According to a guest, the highlight of a recently held Diwali bash, hosted by a London-based billionaire at his sumptuous SoBo apartment, was not the food and drinks or even the star Bollywood entertainment on hand, but the fact that one of the evening's guests, Bollywood's reigning icequeen Sridevi, had actually let her hair down and danced with relative abandon to some of her popular hits at the request of many.
Khushi, Boney Kapoor, Sridevi and Jhanvi
"She was accompanied by husband Boney Kapoor and one of her daughters," said the source, herself a dame so grande, that she could not for the life of her recall which daughter it had been. Older daughter Jhanvi, already on the verge of stardom, or younger daughter Khushi, who, along with her sibling, has thousands of followers on social media.
The dubious group and others
Not for nothing is it called the country's leading business group. After all, its byzantine corridors contain some of the most tantalising secrets for the rest of India's corporate community, given how much heft it has in the financial markets. The latest story to emerge from here is that the Old Lady of India Inc, which had experienced considerable turmoil over the past few years, is being controlled by three powerful groups.
"The first are the Tam Brahms," says the source, who like the rest of his peers, has made the goings-on within the group the subject of his intense study over the years. "The second, of course, given its legacy, are the Parsis," he says and chuckles even before he begins his next sentence. "But it's the third group that is the most interesting," he says. "They're called 'The Dubious Group' by everyone," he laughs.
The Dubious group? How so, we asked. "Well, it's a motley group of people, mainly self-serving and from the outside, who have managed to inveigle themselves close to the seat of power, and whisper in its ear from time to time" he says. The mind boggles.
For a good cause
Nargis Fakhri, the model-artist who turned 38 last week, and who has been concentrating on a music career after the release of her first single Habitaan Vigaad Di in June, is putting her celebrity status to good use.
Nargis Fakhri
The star, who divides her time between Mumbai and New York, and is said to be in talks with Snoop Dogg for a future collaboration, is the chief guest and star endorser of an upcoming charity gala in the Big Apple to raise money for street kids in India. The occasion is witnessing considerable excitement amongst the NRI community in New York, as many well-known professionals are throwing themselves into the cause by donating time and money.
Towards this, Fakhri has recorded a message urging people to contribute generously. Incidentally, the actress-musician who was last seen the role of Sangeeta Bijlani in the biopic Azhar, and in her (blink and miss) outing in Housefull 3, has been working on an Indo-American venture called 'Five Weddings.'
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