Jus' hangin with his buds

Mukesh Ambani and Arianna Huffington PicAFPSo you think your weekend of gorging on beer and biryani with your pals at the neighbourhood joint and then watching a game of footie was epic we would caution you from boasting about it until you consider Congressman Milind Deoras Had an intellectually rejuvenating weekend with Carlos Slim Mukesh Ambani Thomas Friedman Arianna Huffington etc he posted yesterdayMilind Deora Carlos Slim and Ivanka Trump PicAFPTurns out it was at a conference in America and amongst the heavy hitters that the rocker politician met was one who could be a future resident of the White House Ivanka Trump So the next time you think of posting a pic of yourself at some weekend jamboree in a mall best to lie down and let the feeling pass until you crash the really big boys orbitArsenal all the wayThough we arent football fans and quite embarrassingly have watched many World Cup Finals blithely ignorant of which team scored in which goal we hear Saturdays Arsenal vs Chelsea match was an important one that had many Indian fans glued to their TVsHarsha Bhogle Harbhajan Singh Neha Dhupia and Atul KasbekarWhats more the match known as the London derby had many surprise Indian celebrity visitors thanks to a sports brand which flew them to London to watch from a private VIP box The chosen few Arsenal fans who made the trip include cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag actresses Neha Dupia and Esha Gupta as well as lensman Atul Kasbekar and cricket commentator Harsha BhogleAnd of course our Indian contingent did make most of the experience and posted pictures with players Santi Corzola and Hector Bellerin and former players Sol Cambell and Robert Pires and were even rewarded by a 30 score in their favourite teams favourConfidante extraordinaireAs one of the countrys leading investment bankers the suave Nimesh Kampani is a towering figure in Mumbais financial world The alumnus of Sydenham who founded the JM Financial group was once along with Hemendra Kothari and Uday Kotak named as the Three Ks of Indias leaders in investment bankingNimeshacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088KampaniAfter all his brilliance in mediating between some of the most highprofile and important financial matters in the country namely the one between top legal eagles Shardul and Cyril Shroff over their family law firm Amarchand Mangaldas or when he helped TCS and Bharti go public or most recently when he negotiated the deal between Diageo and Vijay Mallya is the stuff of Dalal street legend And now that Kampani will be hanging up his hat at the end of the month when he steps down as the chairman of his company there are many stories told about himOur favourite is the one about how Kampani won himself the trust and confidence of Indias richest and most powerful bizman Apparently to shield his client during a particularly messy media takeover the silverhaired Mumbai boy put his own life on hold when he bit the bullet on behalf of his client and spent two years almost in selfimposed exile in Dubai in order to protect his famous client For someone to do that is the ultimate sacrifice says an insider No wonder he commands the trust and regard he doesBig plans aheadHes always been known to be surrounded by beautiful women so when Albanian singer and actress Bleona Qereti tweeted this attractive picture of herself with Lalit Modi founderarchitect of the IPL and one of Londons most glamorous exiles with the words big projects coming up it caught our noticeLalit Modi with Bleona QeretiBleona who has been based in the US for the last few years has worked with producers such as Rodney Jerkins and Grammy winner David Foster What new projects is she referring to and would they include India The mind bogglesBehind the scenes palaverAnyone familiar with this insular biz club and its penchant for keeping things nice and tidy will recognise what a palaver this recent incident has createdLast week a rather stern missive had been issued by one of its officebearers informing members that one of its members had breached rules of the august body when three of his employees had attempted to reserve seats for the concerned member and his family and then on being requested to leave had refused and stayed and had dinnerWhile we have raised this matter with the concerned member in future such instances would be dealt with the seriousness they deserve and could result in significant penal action including suspension of membership rights the letter reads And if the member is who its being said it is this is one behindthescenes turf battle that isnt going to go anywhere soonRemembering DevI met him for the first time when I was in Std IV at Filmistan Studios As I entered in my school uniform right outside floor no 4 I saw THE Dev Anand says ace photographer Pradeep Chandra about this portrait with the late screen legend whose birthday falls todayDev Anand with Pradeep ChandraOnce I told him lets go to Bombay Central station and do a shoot He immediately agreed and drove all the way himself in his Fiat On our return journey I asked him how come you still use this old Fiat recalls Chandra and he said in his famous style Pradeep I have a Merc and a few cars but I love this car and this car will be with me till the endChandra whose portraits of Bollywood have been celebrated for decades is out with his latest a 180page hardbound tome on Abhishek Bachchan titled Style amp Substance It has just hit the market but a formal launch is yet to take place he says