We have lost count of the times that we have run in to Niraj Bajaj, the suave MD of Mukund at the theatres
Raell Padamsee along with the Elvis Presley impersonator
We have lost count of the times that we have run in to Niraj Bajaj, the suave MD of Mukund at the theatres. Big production, western musicals, modest experimental ventures, edgy imports, the Arjuna award winner (he represented the country in table tennis for four years) takes them all in accompanied by wife Minal.
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Niraj Bajaj at ‘A Vision Of Elvis’ show
This Saturday, we saw him at the NCPA at ‘Reth-Songs of the Sand’, and we heard he was back again the next evening to see ‘A Vision Of Elvis’, Raell Padamsee’s staging of UK’s Number 1 Elvis Presley tribute.
What did the devoted patron of theatre think of the paean to the king of Rock and Roll? “It was excellent,” he says, adding, “I’ve seen many Elvis shows in different cities across the world, including in Las Vegas, but this was one of the best.”
And what keeps drawing the Bajajs back to theatre? “There’s something magical about it,” he says, adding, “It’s all real, no retakes. What’s more, dedicated actors in India normally get a pittance to perform. They do it for the love of theatre, and deserve all our support. We really enjoy good theatre and try and attend as much as we can.” Nice!
Weddings ahoy!
The end of the month will witness the wedding celebrations of two prominent city clans.
Anjali Mody, Dhirubhai Ambani, Soli Sorabjee and Isheta Salgaocar
The first will take place at the Royal Western Turf Club, when Anjali Mody, daughter of ace legal eagle Zia and entertainment and racing mogul Jaydev, weds Akshay Tandon.
And the second, which follows the very next day, is a celebration hosted by Kokilaben Ambani along with the rest of the Ambani family for her granddaughter Isheta Salgaocar, daughter of art patron Dipti and industrialist Raj at the building formerly known as Antilia.
Mody, an alumni of Rhode Island School of Design, is based in Mumbai, where she runs a design studio, which specialises in custom-made furniture, and Salgaoncar, who divides her time between Goa and Mumbai, is with the Huffington Post.
What’s more, both young women have formidable grandfathers — Mody’s grandfather is the erudite Soli Sorabjee, former attorney-general of India, while Salgaocar’s is the dynamic Dhirubhai Ambani, the visionary business leader.
One more thing — the dress code for both occasions is ‘traditional/formal’, with the Ambani evening tagged as ‘Black Tie/Formal-a hint of Romance’. Expect Mumbai at its sartorial best this season.
Divergent views
If you think politics is polarising America and India, what about cinema? We were amused to hear the mother-son thespian duo of noted actress, director and producer Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal and the Emmy-winning Kaizad hold wildly divergent views on the same film.
Kaizad and Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal
“Three hours of utter boredom...waiting restlessly for the end...an utterly sophomoric script, especially at the start, and that line ‘friendship mein no sorry, no thank you’ flicked from, ‘love is never having to say sorry’ from Love Story,” pronounced the obviously irritated Mahabanoo on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, adding, “A man-child weeping continuously and copiously from beginning to end... grrrrrr! Random songs scattered throughout, of which the two Sufi numbers were good. A totally plastic ex-miss world/ universe, unbearably static and lifeless...”
Kaizad, on the other hand, said, “I finally saw Ae Dil Hai Muskhil. And despite its many flaws, I loved every moment of it. So sue me!” They must have interesting dinner-table conversations.
Laughing through their tears
Talk about every cloud having a silver lining. Even as Delhi staggered under its blanket of smog, a thin ray of sunshine broke through the gloom in the form of witticisms. To begin with were photographer and man-about-town Samar S Jodha’s clever puns on famous Delhi destinations currently under particle siege! Thus, you have ‘Haze Khas’, ‘Chandini Choke’ ‘Dhua Kuan’ and ‘Grey Fort’, but our favourite by far is ‘Pollutyen’s Delhi’.
Samar S Jodha, Omkar Goswami and daughter Shahana
And if that’s not humour at its darkest, take a look at fellow IIC/Habitat traveller and economist Omkar Goswami’s droll comment on the two issues that have convulsed the chattering classes of Delhi and Mumbai recently: ‘Delhi now has the unique distinction of having air worse than Bombay House’. Smoke in their eye and a smile on their lips.
Babloo chaiwala goes to Monaco
So all eyes are on the biggest and fattest Punjabi wedding which took place recently in Monaco, where two wealthy North Indian families married their progeny over fireworks, sundry Bollywood performers and no-holds-barred celebrations at the Grimaldi Palace, the Fairmount hotel and Nobu restaurant and other fabulously extravagant venues in the European principality associated with the rich and famous.
But wait, though the festivities saw the usual song and dance extravaganzas by Bollywood (in this case, Vishal and Shekhar), the highlight of the event, (besides the prime cuts of Wagyu beef and truffles), we’re told that the hosts had flown down India’s second most famous chaiwala for their guests. Mind you, this is no ordinary chaiwala, we were informed, popularly known as ‘Babloo Chaiwala’.
He is booked for the entire year for all the big fat Indian weddings and had been flown in from India all the way to Monaco to make tea for the 900 invitees from across the world.
“He started out with a tea stall near the stock market in Kolkata and has travelled to more destinations than most people and has three passports already,” said a newly returned guest, adding, “His charges for making tea at weddings are unbelievable and he is very much in demand.”
Our Oolong tea-serving SoBo hostess friend is going to be very jealous.
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