Yesterday was a busy day for producer Krishika Lulla. "I always believe in Ganpati; so since tomorrow is the release of my latest film, I had to take blessing from Lord Ganpati at my friend Vanita Wadhawan's puja at her residence," she said
Krishika Lulla with Shilpa Shetty and friends
Yesterday was a busy day for producer Krishika Lulla. "I always believe in Ganpati; so since tomorrow is the release of my latest film, I had to take blessing from Lord Ganpati at my friend Vanita Wadhawan's puja at her residence," she said when we spoke to her. Lulla's film comes at a time when Bollywood is witnessing its bleakest box office period, and blessings from a god said to remove all obstacles were highly welcome.
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The film, a Hindi comedy-drama, stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar, and is said to be on the subject of arranged marriages and erectile dysfunction! Was she always a devotee of Ganesh, even before she entered the industry we asked the busy producer. "Yes, I've being performing the puja ever since I've been a child," she said.
Sigh of relief
Popular chef Manu Chandra, the man behind successful restaurants (with offbeat names) Toast and Tonic, Fatty Bao, Monkey Bar, etc, like many in the F&B industry, has had a challenging couple of months due to the court verdict that banned serving liquor next to highways.
Chef Manu Chandra
While many of his colleagues, like Manish Mehrotra, decided to move their restaurants and relocate, Chandra had decided to wait it out. And finally some relief came in, "2 months of hell. That's what it was owing to the ridiculously literal reading of a Supreme Court order," Chandra posted this week to his followers.
"We fought it in court and came close to winning - but finally the apex court saw sense in issuing a clarification. Through this, no one was laid off, nor shorted in their pay," he continued. And with the ruling finally overturned, the industry can breathe again. "It'll take a while before we can revive from the beating we've taken, but are back stronger!" He signed off. Cheers!
He who walks
He may be co-founder of the Stepathlon, an app, but when man about town Ravi Krishnan found himself caught in Tuesday's downpour and was compelled to abandon his car, which had broken down on the sea link, and walk the rest of the way to Bandra, his post about his situation elicited much concern. 'Stay safe bro. I know you love walking but that can't be fun right now,' said one comment, whereas another chimed, 'Oh boy. Stay safe.
Ravi Krishnan and Praveen
On the bright side, you are scoring up the steps.' Fortunately for the dapper CEO, it all ended well and he managed to reach his destination from where he posted a cheery message, 'Stranded with Praveen - the best driver in the nation #monsoon #stranded #bombay #flood', along with a picture of himself and Praveen enjoying a cup of tea along the way.
No place like home
Rana Ayyub, the feisty author of 'Gujarat Files', has just returned from a three-week trip to Canada, where she travelled to Vancouver, Surrey, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal among other places. She gave numerous radio and TV and newspaper interviews and media persons were curious to know about the book and its popularity, and living under Modi rule.
Rana Ayyub
"I spoke at the University of British Columbia and the Simon Fraser University to a packed hall of university students," she says. A pleasant surprise from the bestselling author was, when she dropped in to meet liberal MP Frank Bailey, who had introduced the bill against Islamophobia after the Quebec mosque attack in the parliament.
"He opened his drawer to show me a copy of 'Gujarat Files' which he had read six months prior to apprise himself of the situation in India," she says about the trip, which afforded many high points, including being honoured by the Abbotsford Gurudwara for her contribution to human rights and justice in India. What's more, in another event at Toronto, she was told by an MP that the only time he had seen so many Indians together was at the last Bollywood event.
Now home and safe, Ayyub celebrated her homecoming with the one thing that all the riches and accolades abroad cannot compare with: "Kanda poha and vada pav for breakfast. The desi in me so happy to be home, to Mumbai," she laughed.
The inhospitality industry
Oh dear! While the city managed to survive the recent downpour and social media was busy celebrating the spirit of Mumbaikars who went out of their way to rescue, accommodate, and even feed those stranded and in need, one of South Mumbai's smaller five-star hotels on Marine Drive seems to have been left with egg on its face, on account of its lack of empathy.
A campaign against the hotel has been gaining traction on social media. "Guys, please ban this run down, over rated piece of S#!T hotel", read one such post. The hotel is said to have allegedly refused booked rooms to a visiting professor from the USA, which resulted in him and his students sharing pictures on social media of them sleeping on the floor of the lobby.
To make matters worse for the hotel, the group turned out to be journalism students, who didn't waste time and publicised the incident on social media. "Will boycott them and inform the diplomatic circle," read another post by a diplomatic figure. We guess the spirit of Mumbai won on the day but there will always be outliers! Tch tch.
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