Return of Murjani with Vanderbilt

L Mohan Murjani with Tommy Hilfiger and a friendThe more things change the more they stay the same He may have exited India and the world of luxury a few years ago to settle in Thailand but this week when Mohan Murjani known as the only Indian group in the world to have developed launched and built renowned international designer lifestyle brands Gloria Vanderbilt and Tommy Hilfiger sent out an invitation to a select group of his Indian friends inviting them to the grand opening of the newest international brand Vanderbilt New York it seemed as if things had almost come full circle againZarine and Sanjay KhanMohan Murjani the scion of a wellheeled Sindhi clan from Hong Kong had made headlines when he persuaded one of the biggest names in America the heiress to the fabulous Vanderbilt fortunes Gloria Vanderbilt actress designer socialite and mother of CNNrsquos top rated anchor Anderson Cooper to lend her name to a new line of designer jeans made especially for women in the midSeventies The jeans were a runaway success Murjani had later repeated the success with the launch of Tommy Hilfiger in 1985Mukesh Ambani and Ramola BachchanHis Mumbai foray when he rented an apartment at Wellington Mews saw him pioneering the first real luxury mall when he built the Galleria at the Oberoi where he sold Gucci Jimmy Choo Bottega Veneta Calvin Klein and French Connection among other brands He sold the business to Reena Wadhwa wife of investment banker Ashok before exiting IndiaVanderbilt New York marks his second collaboration with the Vanderbilt name and is a menrsquos accessories label Interestingly invitations for the launch in Thailand which boasts the presence of actors James Ma and Kimberly Ann Tiamsiri have been sent out to a rather interesting list of people Mukesh Ambani Ramola Bachchan Harsh Mariwala Sanjay and Zarine Khan Tanil and Nilima Kilachand and Uday Kotak And Murjani has promised to lsquomake all appropriate arrangementsrsquo if they acceptGauhar travels to LondonldquoWatermans Arts Centre London from 1115th Oct everydayrdquo noted Sufi singer Zila Khan had said on the eve of her departure to London recently adding with her characteristic wit ldquoI look forward to performing for fans and friends in London and for those special friends who are coming from UKrsquos neighbouring countries who say they are coming to listen to me sing in it but I know theyrsquore coming just to have a blast with merdquo And this picture featuring the playrsquos lead actors Rajeshwari Sachdev Denzil Smith and Khan herself with colleagues in London demonstrates quite amply how a blast is hadThe cast of Gauhar in LondonWe had the pleasure of watching Gauhar on its first day first show at the NCPA and had been delighted by it Written by Mahesh Dattani and directed by Lilette Dubey it traced the saga of the courtesan Gauhar whorsquod been the first Indian voice to be recorded on the gramophone way back in 1902Not only had the casting been perfect with Sachdev playing the young singer in her prime and Khan depicting her magnificently in her later years but also the fact that audiences had been treated to such a wellstaged slice of history had made it an experience to treasure Now we are sure that London is falling under Gauharrsquos spell and howBrothers in armsWe chanced upon this picture of Indiarsquos steel tycoon brothers Sajjan and Naveen Jindal shot this week in Dubai The brothers were representing the Indian steel industry on behalf of their respective companies JSW and JSPL at the annual World Steel Association SummitSajjan and Naveen JindalAnd we hear the international summit was attended by industry leaders from across the world and had speeches by UAErsquos Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Saleh who is the deputy minister of economy and Ahmed Mohamed Alkaabi who is the assistant undersecretary for Petroleum Gas and Mineral Resources at the Ministry of EnergyA source informs us ldquoThis year was a special occasion for India as Naveen Jindal was conferred the Industry Communicator of the Year award and Sajjan Jindal won the lsquoSteeliersquo award during the summitrdquo And whatrsquos best is that Sajjan graciously took to social media after the event and posted a congratulatory message for his brother ldquoCongratulations Naveen proud of you my little brotherrdquo SweetReverse brain drainGood to know that Dubai which has long attracted talent over the world mainly from India Pakistan and Britain is giving back in that department too Sunil John of Kerala the Dubaibased CEO of the public relations firm Asdarsquoa BursonMarsteller and widely regarded as one of the most influential PR executives in the Middle East is part of that reverse brain drainL to R Sunil John Vivek Rangachari Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nimrat Kaur Ritesh Batra Arun Rangachari PicAsdaa BursonMarstellerHow so Well as a partner and director at DAR Motion Pictures along with his partner Arun Rangachari CEO of DAR Capital Group Sunil had not only produced lsquoThe Lunch Boxrsquo starring Irrfan Khan but the companyrsquos movie output is doubling and he says hersquos spending more and more of his time in Mumbai because of film production ldquoMy monthly breaks in Mumbai transformed into a busy period listening to creative pitches of new film projects or reading scriptsIrrfan Khan in The LunchboxIt was during one such session that I read the script of lsquoThe Lunchboxrsquo and it absolutely charmed my heart I knew we had a winner in our handsrdquo says John about the awardwinning film cited as a perfect example of global cooperation with studios from India the United States France and Germany Is this the second coming of the wellproduced contemporary multiplex film that will lift Bollywood out of its current quagmireWatch this space