Bollywood Glitterati

Sone ki raahon me sone ka jagah nahin, crooned Bappi Lahiri once, probably perfectly speaking for the city of life. Mumbai or erstwhile Bombay has always been musical for those who dared to dream. Bollywood has always found the metropolis to be inspirational to create hit numbers. No wonder that the  MVP  (Music Video Project) BMC in association with The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) already has 40 teams, 9 solo musicians and counting. The contest promises to give global audiences a taste of Mumbai’s sounds and vibe. Music makers Milind Joshi and Shantanu Moitra, director-screenwriter Reema Kagti, advertising and theatre veteran Bharat Dabholkar, Manisha Dey who heads programming and content for Gaana.com and Nirmika Singh, editor of Rolling Stone are on the jury panel. Admits Reema Kagti, “Mumbai has always been an inspiration - its love, its vibe, culture, people, food… Everything. I look forward to celebrating the city’s essence and culture with these videos.” Adds Manish...

I started my journey of martial arts from school time as I was never particularly interested in studies and always looked only towards sports activities I started off with Yoga and then my interest shifted on to being an athlete, 100 meters’ sprint, high jump, 400 meters hurdles being my forte. One day i saw some guys practicing kicks and punches, wearing white uniforms and i I got to know that it's a form of martial arts called Taekwondo. . I had an instinctive feeling that this is what my true calling was I i told my family about my decision and especially my mother was really supportive and my martial arts journey kick started. Yoga helped me with my flexibility whereas my athletic background helped me with my endurance and strength and within a few years i got many recognitions in Taekwondo competitions Was just focusing on my training day after day and year after year, when one day I got a call from Ram Gopal Varma, who somehow found out about me to ask if i could come to Mumb...

. The recent cyclone Tauktae has battered the green cover of Mumbai, with 2363 trees being uprooted and innumerable others losing their branches. A survey revealed that 70 per cent of the trees lost were non-native species. After studying the local agro-climatic conditions, including soil quality, humid weather, the BMC prepared a list of 41 native trees that can be planted in Mumbai and are part of the trees in the Konkan belt. These are Wad, Pimpal, Umber, Kanchan, Kadamba, Gunj, Palas, Nim, Mahogany, Moh, Bahawa, Sag, Arjun, Ain, Kinjal, Sita Ashok, Undal, Nagkeshar, Champa, Shivan, Shirish, Karanj, Bakul, Bell, Taman, Hirda, Behda, Coconut, Amla, Khair, Tetu, Mango, Putranjiva, Wild Almond, Bibba, Parijatak, Rita, Sandalwood, Phanas and Chafa among others. On the eve of World Environment Day, the BMC’s K West Ward Asst Commissioner Mr. Vishvas Mote along with Make Earth Green Again MEGA Foundation started the ‘Be A Tree Parent - Adopt A Fallen Tree Pit’ Campaign to involve socie...

    Miss India UK and worldwide runner up Niharica Raizada, actress of films like Masaan, 6-5=2, Damadol, Total Dhamaal and the forthcoming Sooryavanshi wears many hats. Very few know that the granddaughter of veteran composer OP Nayyar is also a cardiologist-scientist and has been treating thousands of patients during the COVID crisis. Combining her skills, Niharica is heralding her birthday on April 18 with the amazing song dedicated to her and warriors like her. “In fact, every woman is a warrior,” says the lead actress of international film Warrior Savitri. The French song ‘Bout des Doigts’ which means ‘Till the tip of your Fingers’ performed with Shampa Gopikrishna, directed by Swapnil Kumar and shot by Rishabh Puthran sees Niharica and Shampa in rusty red grooving to the music, their expressions speak of power, empowerment and the softness that only red signifies. Niharica who speaks and has acted in films in five global languages says, “The lyrics of Bout des Doig...

Urges everyone to come together and support OOHA, a solution based animal welfare movement to co-exist with innocent animals   27th February 2021, Mumbai: Today on World NGO day, CWATY, the world’s first digital animal influencer, in association with Nargis Dutt Foundation, Sparsh Trust, Make Earth Green Again MEGA Foundation and Cowin launches the animal welfare movement – OOHA (Out Of Home Adoption) a solution based animal welfare movement for human beings and Indian street animals to coexist with love and care.   Pledging their support with CEP (Celebrating Excellence in Philanthropy), a not-for-profit event IP, where senior and upcoming philanthropists are honoured based on their contribution and dedication shown towards making a better tomorrow, the day marked the announcement of the second edition of the event CEP 2.0 as well.   Speaking on the occasion, Priya Dutt, a popular social activist and politician, who believes in the cause of humanity for all said “Animal ...

Padmashri Legends Pankaj Udhas and Kavita Krishnamurti come together at the virtual edition of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on Insider.in. The duo have a long association with Kala Ghoda as  they studied together in St. Xavier's College and used to squat at Elphinstone's canteen The Log Cabin, and then spend time at The Rhythm House to get an opportunity to listen to new records at the booths at the milestone location. Jehangir Art Gallery's Samovar was another favourite hangout and they still remember the cuisine. "Our Kala Ghoda festival started in 1972," reasons Pankaj Udhas. Unfortunately Rhythm House and Samovar don’t exist any more. Kavita Krishnamurti speaks of her senior Pankaj Udhas and how they all looked up to him at college. "He has seen super stardom but it has never gone to his head. It is so difficult to become a star singing ghazals and it is an uphill task." Pankaj Udhas talks of the big college gang that used to sit below the trees and eat ...

Seeking better ways of sanitization with lowest toxicity and least bio burden, Amazing Ambrosia Pvt Ltd (amazingambrosia.com), India’s First Water Technology Platform, founded by veteran water technologist Dr BK Sharma, son Sidharth Sharma, along with plastic industries doyen Mahendra N Patel, and Rahul C Mehta of MentorCap, has decided to combat India's water and sanitation problems by identifying world class technologies, adapting, innovating and manufacturing them locally to have a transformative impact on India. Their world class products, Amazing Hygieia and HygieiaDent are winners of the Economic Times Industry Leader Awards for Pathbreaking Technology resulting in Exemplary Contribution to Society.  Recently, Amazing Ambrosia has gifted 1000 litres of Amazing Hygieia to the MCGM for aiding sanitisation of the city. “The MCGM personnel work tirelessly through the pandemic. It is payback time. This is just the beginning,” avers Sidharth Sharma. Amazing Hygieia is water that di...

Manoj Bajpayee has lately presented a  short film Driving Me Crazy, calling it "little gem", Raveena Tandon feels that it is "a mastmast short film,"  Sunil Shetty admits to the film taking him "on a rollercoaster of emotions," while Kailash Kher, celebrity photographers Munna Singh and Vicky Idnani swear by it. We are talking of Purnima Lamchhane's short Driving Me Crazy that premiered on Zee5,  and is taking the OTT platform by storm. Starring Tina Ahuja and Mudit Nair on lead roles, the flick takes a look at the online dating romance that makes or breaks hearts, albeit with a beautiful narrative that tugs at your heartstrings. Considering that Purnima Lamchhane lives in the world or pixies and fairies, her offering has a generous amount of pixie dust that glitters as well. In this case, all that glitters surely has the Tinseltown bowled!

Come September 21 (8 pm) and around 40 million people will be connecting for peace from 8 pm onwards. There will be two virtual events: ‘Celebrate Peace‘ at 8 pm IST, followed by ‘Create Peace’, the synchronized guided meditation at 9 pm.In an event anchored by International film legend Shekhar Kapur, with performances by musicians from Shashank Subramanyam and Mike Hertig to Grammy award winner Ricky Kej, ambassadors and messengers of peace like Daaji, Deepak Chopra, BK Sister Shivani, Bruce Lipton, Bob Boisture, Sharon Salzberg, Thomas d’Ansembourg and Amandine Roche, and sports legends Javier Zanetti, Marta Bassino and Michela Moioli   will transmit the Experience of Peace to 40 million people across the globe. Daaji, the moving spirit behind Heartfulness says, "At Heartfulness, we will be transmitting on that day throughout the 24 hours. And if you would like to join us in meditation, simply close your eyes and tune into with your innermost corner, where you find love in y...

  Darjeeling-based filmmaker Shenpenn Khymsar makes his directorial debut with the film, Broken Wings, which he says is based on real issues of his land. Khymsar claims that this is the first time in post-Independence India that a Nepali-Hindi language film has been “made in Darjeeling”, though there are many films that have been shot in the hill station.“I am from Darjeeling and I felt it is best to resonate your story and sites of your upbringing in your filmmaking. A lot of people in the Hindi belt and South India aren’t aware that this is a part of India. They know it for the tea and the toy train. Darjeeling is an intricate part of India where Nepali is a spoken language. Nepali is actually also a constitutional language of India,” Khymsar said