Sunday night, we were amongst the city’s first to experience Mumbai’s newest Thai import - the popular Nara Thai restaurant franchise of Bangkok
Sanjay and Maanayata Dutt with Karyna Bajaj
Sunday night, we were amongst the city's first to experience Mumbai's newest Thai import — the popular Nara Thai restaurant franchise of Bangkok. The restaurant has been brought here by Karyna Bajaj, the youngest daughter of veteran restaurateur Kishore Bajaj, and adds to their group's portfolio of international franchises.
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Located in BKC, we entered it to find Sanjay Dutt and wife Maanayata (along with their twins Iqra and Shahraan) cutting the ribbon, accompanied by other members of the Dutt clan: sisters Namrata and Priya with their husbands Kumar Gaurav and Owen Roncon, and Boman Irani with wife Zenobia, and Kunal Vijayakar.
Along with the delicious fare of crispy fried morning glory, pomelo salad, shrimp cakes, river prawns in garlic and jasmine rice, ice cream with Thai condiments, which evoked an authentic Thai experience, the highlight of the evening was when Boman gave vent to his sonorous voice, and rendered outstanding versions of old hits (including a rousing My Way) with the Thai band that had been flown in for the occasion.
We asked Karyna why she had decided to bring Nara to India. "Having brought two Michelin restaurants to India already, my focus is to introduce restaurants that embody the same ethos of exemplary food and service. Nara, with its ambrosial food, presented in a modern setting, embodies just that," she said. There's no stopping this pretty young restaurateur. She will be launching a new European restaurant right next to Nara, she says.
Those were the days
"Modelling those days was one big happy family with all the drama that goes with it. A time of innocence. A sweetness none of us will ever forget," says actress and former model Nandini Sen, about this photograph featured in 'Light Works', a retrospective of ace photographer Jitendra Arya's work currently on at the NGMA.
Nandini Sen, Veena Prakash, Kalpana Iyer and the late Protima Bedi
"It was shot in Arya's studio for a Yugoslavian textile show in 1977," she said, adding, "Shanti Chopra coordinated it all with the gajras and bindis." Featuring the top models of the era, Veena Prakash, Kalpana Iyer, the late Protima Bedi and Sen herself, it captures the tantalising innocence of an era before professional make-up artists, fashion designers, personal stylists and hashtags.
"We had spent the night at Protima's before our flight to Belgrade. She was the most loving, generous, warm and always outrageously her own person, living by her own rules," she said, adding, " Looking at it, I am reminded of Simon and Garfunkel's 'Old Friends'. Time it was and what a time it was a time of innocence…"
Daddy cool
Word comes in that Saif Ali Khan was at his doting-daddy best at the launch of the trailer of his upcoming film, Chef. After spending time with the film's director Raja Krishna Menon and his young co-star, who plays his son in the film, Khan was full of worldly wisdom about fatherhood.
Saif Ali Khan with co-stars at the launch of the trailer of ‘Chef’. Pic/Pradeep Chandra
"What's most important in life is balancing your work, personal life and leisure, and doing everything in moderation," he said, telling the delighted audience how he and Kareena took turns with nappy duty for their son Taimur. This was not the only instance of the Nawab Saab enjoying domesticity.
When asked if he cooked like the character he was playing in the film, he declared that he'd recently prepared a prawn dish at Kunal Kapoor's, which had been highly appreciated. Prawn jaye par vachan na jaye?
Music in the park
One of the high points of our life has been a balmy summer evening spent at NYC's Central Park, watching the open-air and free-to-public screening of the musical 'The Wizard of Oz' amidst people unpacking their picnic hampers, and settling down with wine in paper glasses for a night under the stars.
Renee Elise Goldsberry with Chinmai Sharma
We were reminded of this on hearing that last week the Taj-run Pierre on the cusp of the park had hosted a 'Night of Broadway at The Park'. The piece de resistance of the evening was a performance by Renee Elise Goldsberry, the actress and singer who'd won the 2016 Tony award for her role of Angelica in the Broadway hit Hamilton.
The extravaganza saw the likes of the city's movers and shakers, including the new Indian Consul General to New York Sandeep Chakravorty, and was hosted by outgoing CEO and MD Rakesh Sarna and Chinmai Sharma, the group's Chief Revenue Officer. Incidentally, in addition to her rousing Hamilton act, Goldsberry is reported to have dedicated one of her renditions to the recent floods in Houston, Texas, from where her mother hails.
Hot and cool
This long-legged Bollywood starlet has thrust herself decidedly in the public gaze after a series of recent posts of herself in negligible attire on social media, and is said to be happily unperturbed about the flak it's generated amongst the prudish.
What's more, insiders reveal that she even acquired some new arm candy recently: the Gulf-based NRI heir to a billion-dollar fortune, whose so smitten with her, that he's said to have swept her off her feet quite literally, flying her in his PJ for a party to a European beach destination this month. What's a little carping over some racy pix then?
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