Sathyu at Antilia

There are some sights that you never think you will see a certain N Modi and Sonia G catching a quick bite at Khan Marketrsquos Latitude Cafe Lalit Modi and Srinivasan buying an IPL franchise together Salman and Aishwarya starring in a film together and MS Sathyu maker of the internationally acclaimed Garam Hawa it was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes at Nita and Mukeshrsquos AntiliaMS Sathyu Nita Ambani and Kiran RaoBut the good folk behind Jio Mami managed to make the last possible Not only was Sathyu very much there but along with him were a sizeable serving of new wave indie progressive and unlikely folk one would never imagine partying in the worldrsquos most expensive homeEntering late after a long day which had included conducting a session at Tata Lit Live on Thursday evening we ran into Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli along with Rishi Kapoor waiting for their cars at the Antilia gateExpecting the usual big Bolly attendance we were pleasantly surprised to spot the likes of Pushan Kriplani Shaad Ali Sooni Taraporewala and Shyam Benegal meet and mingle with the likes of Katrina Kaif Irrfan Khan an international publisher Nicholas Coleridge Tara Sharma Suhel Seth AD Singh and Raghavendra RathoreThe best jamborees are when people from different points of view and walks of life get tossed together to make up a tasty salad Anupama Chopra Kiran Rao and Nita Ambani appear to have done just that by joining forces and pulling off what is being spoken about as one of the most exciting film festivals the city has witnessedNevertheless running into Sathyu in those opulent and lavish interiors we have to admit we could not believe our eyes ldquoIs that really yourdquo we had enquired doubtfully And to his credit the legendary filmmaker caught our drift and had shrugged shylyMr Seth comes callingWhile in the city to receive sundry lifetime achievement awards Vikram Seth found time to drop in on noted artist Nikhil Chaganlal and hair stylist and fashionista friend Sujan Mehtarsquos artfilled home on Marine DriveSujan Mehta Vikram Seth and Nikhil ChaganlalFew know that Seth is Chaganlalrsquos motherrsquos husbandrsquos nephew ldquoThey are mutual admirers of each otherrsquos worksrdquo said Mehta the artistrsquos soulmate and muse ldquoFirst they went to Chor Bazaar to look for a camphor chest and apparently even the shop owners were impressed by Sethrsquos knowledgeThen they came over and Seth was mesmerised by Nikhilrsquos paintings especially his Interior series and finally they ended up at Leopoldrsquos for a beerrdquo he said NiceHigh rollers gatherA creamy slice of Mumbairsquos biggest rollers rolled up in their Rolls their Eclasses their Jags and their Beemers to partake of top city builder Suresh and Meena Rahejarsquos sumptuous hospitality at the Chambers at Taj Lands End on Saturday nightMeena Raheja and Rishi KapoorWherever we looked we saw some of the cityrsquos most successful biz men professionals and bureaucrats like ace builder Niranjan Hiranandani with wife Kamal infrastructure tycoon Ravi Ruia with wife Madhu Londonbased designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla stars Rishi and Neetu Kapoor leading banker Rana Kapoor with wife Bindu top cop Paramvir Singh with wife Savita amongst many othersThe hostess legendary for her hospitality and attention to detail was seen urging guests to go back for seconds and the party showed no signs of winding up when we made our exit around midnightNo voting pleaseItrsquos become the talk of the town and even made it to international media but few know that Anupam Kherrsquos famous outing where he got booed at the Tata Lit Live festival almost never took placeAnil Dharker and Anupam Kher Apparently on the morning of his debate on free speech Kher had called festival director Anil Dharker and said that he would only show up if the voting at the end of the debate was dropped This is when the audience chooses which side has put up a better argumentPerhaps the actor feared that whatever he said would cut no ice with the progressive liberals who frequent lit fests Understandably the organisers were put through a few hours of hairraising tension but in the end good sense had prevailed and Kher did show up eventually And the rest as they say is historyStraight out of a movieEven as Karva Chauth was marked across the nation and Planet we have evidence of it being embraced by the sariclad version of Desperate Housewives in LA some of Mumbairsquos prettiest former and current stars star moms and socialites gathered to fast and later feast together for the occasionThe Karva Chauth eveningSeen at this uber soiree were Sridevi Shilpa Shetty Raveena Tandon Thadani Rima Jain Queenie Singh Padmini Kolhapure and Krishika Lulla in what could be a scene out of a KJO blockbuster Incidentally where was KJO Did he observe Karva Chauth this year as Twinkle Khanna had informed us he has done in the past The mind bogglesRead my TeeYoursquove got to hand it to middleaged lothario Raja Dhody Who else would post a picture of himself in Phuket on a public social media platform calling himself a lsquoRich BdrsquoRaja DhodyBut whereas many applauded him for his zany sense of humour one SoBo diva was not so appreciative ldquoThe second word I can understandrdquo she cackled ldquoBut after his many alimonies etc mdash how can he describe himself as lsquorichrsquordquo she said cattily