Take that Bollywood

Exactly a year ago we had the privilege of being on the jury of the 6th Kashish Film Festival South Asiarsquos biggest queer film festival and the first Indian LGBT festival to be held with approval by the IampB Ministry GOI Held over held over 5 days at three venues with its headquarters at the Mumbairsquos landmark Liberty Cinema it afforded us the opportunity of watching a multitude of films from all over the world and to meet a plethora of people from all walks of life who supported the LGBTQ causeIan McKellanHowever even then we had wondered why Bollywood and its stars were so conspicuously absent from Kashish and we recall bringing this up with the festivalrsquos indefatigable director Sridhar Rangayan Given that the presence of Bollywood ensures instant publicity why didnrsquot they attempt to invite some of its stars to participate in Kashish After all it was about films took place in Mumbai and frankly so many of Bollywoodrsquos stars attended far less worthy events at the drop of a hat Rangayan replied saying it was not from want of trying and that they had been knocking each year at Bollywoodrsquos door for some involvement with little luckWell in what appears to be cosmic irony Bollywoodrsquos loss is Hollywoodrsquos gain No less than Sir Ian Mckellan one of most successful British stars Sir Ian Lord of the Rings Mckellan will inaugurate the 7th edition of Kashish later this month He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards a Tony Award a Golden Globe Award a Screen Actorsrsquo Guild Award a BIFA Award two Saturn Awards four Drama Desk Awards and two Criticsrsquo Choice Awards ldquoOn my first visit to Mumbai I am very pleased to attend the opening night of the KASHISH 2016 Festivalrdquo said Mckellan who is being brought to India by the British Council as part of Shakespeare Lives on Film on the occasion of the Bardrsquos 400th death anniversary Take that BollywoodGoa Goan GoneWord comes in that the Goabased designer Wendell Rodericks will be selling off two of his beautiful homes in Goa in Altinho Panjim Whatrsquos more he will be also moving out of his spacious old Goa mansion in Colvale which has been the subject of many of his posts on social network All this to start work on his pet project the Moda Goa Museum ldquoIrsquom working on a new home to move intordquo said the designer not without a tinge of remorse ldquoAnd selling our artwork via Pundole Catalogue shoot in progressrdquoWendell RodericksAnd given the rush in Goa especially from denizens of Delhi therersquos little doubt that the lovingly created spaces and carefully picked art works will find many takersVaswani vindicatedPerhaps itrsquos a sign of times to come but Viveck Vaswani the man who played a part in helping SRK launch his career way back when the star was fresh off the train from Delhi has turned decidedly antistarViveck Vaswani and Anant MahadevanHis latest film Rough Book directed by Anant Mahadevan and made on a modest budget and helped along by crowd funding is a testimony to this filmmakerrsquos conviction that the star system is just not viable any moreAnd whatrsquos more word comes in that Vaswani who has struggled to get his film distributed through mainstream sources has been vindicated by its success abroad ldquoAmerica loved RoughBook Dallas NewYork Washington Houston San Francisco film festivals awards and standing ovationsrdquo he posted recently about its reception A few months ago when wersquod met the producer hersquod been eloquent about how the numbers in mainstream star led films just donrsquot add up any more The standing ovations must be music to his earsLook who came to dinner in 1986Somehow Bal Thackeray has assumed such a larger than life status what with his visage painted on humongous hoardings looking sternly out at hapless Mumbaikars that itrsquos hard to think of him as a mere mortal whorsquod once dropped into peoplersquos homes for dinnerVinod Dua and Bal ThackerayWhich is why this picture of his with Delhibased newsman Vinod Dua shot at none other than veteran thespian Dolly Thakorersquos wellappointed apartment at Pedder Road caught our attention ldquoBal Thackeray and me at Dolly Thakorersquos in 1986 I chose the venue and he camerdquo said DualdquoTill his last days he remained fond of me My last interaction with him was when I went to Bombay for iconic Dev Anandrsquos book Romancing with life I called him for a onetoone interview He invited me for lunch but refused an interview I refused the lunch and didnrsquot go to meet him I requested NDTVrsquos Prasad Kathey to convey my refusal Now that he is no more I wish I had shed my puny little vanity and gone to meet an elderrdquo Dua added To which an aghast friend of his the artist and writer Gautam Benegal remarked ldquoBal Thackeray at Dolly Thakorersquos apartment My uncle lived next doorrdquo And by the uncle he meant none other than the celebrated director screenwriter progressive secular Shyam Benegal ndash you can understand his shockhorror