Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Good Future Banana Hai
When he is not complaining about the exorbitant price of bananas at hotels (his recent social media post had gone viral and led to the hotel being fined), actor Rahul Bose makes sure he devotes his time and attention to his philanthropic ventures. The former Indian national team Rugby player (when he is not shooting, he can occasionally still be found in a sweaty scramble on the Bombay Gym’s grounds) is the founder of The Foundation, his NGO dedicated to the empowering of disenfranchised children which supports education scholarships for kids from challenged environments such as the Andaman and Nicobar islands after the tsunami, for which, in turn, the actor has received much acclaim and was felicitated by a special state award not too long ago. But our attention was drawn to a recent post of his, which captured his all-round empathetic world view. “Will be pledging my organs and tissues to be harvested after my death. The greatest happiness in life I have experienced is the feeling of having given somebody solid strength and tangible hope for their future. To do the same in death is a no-brainer for me,” shared the actor, who spoke on a panel discussion on organ donation in the capital yesterday, along with others including Dr A Sorin, president, Liver Transplantation Society of India and professor Anupum Sibal from Apollo Hospitals.
Bar Bar Dekho
Guests visiting one of the Capital’s popular watering holes Whiskey Samba in Gurgaon were surprised to find the familiar face of Sanjay Kapoor behind the bar this week. The Delhi-based entrepreneur and founder of Genesis luxury, which brought fashion brands such as Armani, Paul Smith and Jimmy Choo to India, before it was taken over by Reliance Industries, was spotted in the traditional barman’s apron, mixing concoctions of liquor for guests as part of the outfit’s celebrity takeover initiative. Other high-profile names such as designer Abhinav Mishra, pattiesier Pooja Nabh and PR lady Archana Jain also participated. “Never before has a fashion designer, super model and accomplished entrepreneur gone behind the bar,” shared restaurateur Ashish Kapoor in an exuberant post.
WTSWTM
What They Say:
“Neena ji Kangana was offered this movie and she loved the true story of Grandmom’s achievements she suggested yours and Ramya Krishnan ma’am’s name for lead roles but these men can’t remove deeply rooted sexism from their filthy brains ...” (sic).
- Rangoli Chandel to Neena Gupta, commenting on an alleged ageist and sexist myopia in the film industry
What They Mean:
“And who says we cannot be ageist and sexist in our own way either.”
Stretching High
With the recent endorsement by US President Donald Trump during the Howdy Modi event in Texas, the upcoming NBA match in Mumbai has received unprecedented publicity and is being majorly anticipated. Word comes in that Mumbai-based Karan Singh, managing director of family-owned pharmaceutical major ACG, founded by his uncle Ajit Singh and father Jasjit Singh (his mum is an interior designer and art patron Kavita Singh and yes, he’s a cousin of Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s too), has been instrumental in putting together the upcoming debut international basketball match scheduled to take place at NSCI Dome in Mumbai next month. “Karan has been a lifelong basketball fan. It was his vision and work he put in to signing a partnership between NBA and ACG that has made this a reality,” informs a source. We are informed that Singh had been working on the deal for many years, making numerous trips to the US in the process and meeting with the NBA management and players. “As a child, it was a wish, then became a dream and now reality! We formed our partnership with the NBA to launch the only pathway program for India directly to the NBA and this is just the start. There’s much more to come,” Singh had shared on his social media in 2015. Now, let’s see if Trump attends the match and makes it the ultimate photo op.