nightlifemumbai

Lakshmi Insurance Building, Bombay This is the Lakshmi Insurance Building on Pherozshah Mehta Road, opposite Bombay Store. It has a  clock tower with a statue of the goddess Lakshmi. Why am I calling it Lahore ki Lakshmi? Because the Lakshmi Insurance Company was originally founded in Lahore by Lala Lajpatrai. This building was the Bombay branch of the company (later merged with the Life Insurance Corporation). There is also a Lakshmi Building in Lahore, which was the headquarters of the insurance company. In fact, the crossroads at which the building is located in Lahore is called Lakshmi Chowk. Lakshmi Chowk in Lahore was a popular hangout for Bollywood celebrities and hopefuls, because many studios and movie offices were located there. The famous villian Pran got cast in a movie when he was hanging out at Lakshmi Chowk at a paan shop :) Apparently a director named Wali spotted him, and scribbled the address of a studio on the back of a cigarette packet. Thus began Pran's journey...

- by Deepa Krishnan I went to Parel with my mom and sister, and on the way back, I photographed this building with metal grille-work. This is Sharda Cinema, Dadar; and the grille-work represents Sharada, the goddess of writing, the arts and all creative efforts. Sharda Cinema has been around for four decades now. This architectural style - do I call it Bombay Deco? - was popular in the 70's, and perhaps even the 80s. But I don't think it continued into the 90's.  Sharda is a single-screen cinema. The arrival of multiplexes has seriously threatened the survival of single-screens in Mumbai. The multiplexes are more expensive, but they have a wider range of films on show, and they are co-located in malls, making them attractive leisure destinations. Most single-screen cinemas are struggling. Many old city icons like Strand and Minerva, have closed down. Some like my neighbourhood Rupam Cinema in Sion have converted into multiplexes. But some - like Sharda Cinema - have surviv...

- By Deepa Krishnan   As part of their 25th year celebrations, Mumbai's popular newspaper Mid-day asked me to write about how to make Mumbai the top tourist city in India. Here's my article.  Recently I read a report by MasterCard, listing the top 20 cities which received international tourists in 2014. London topped the list, with 18.9 million visitors. Mumbai had only 4.9 million and did not make the top 20 list. Neither did any other Indian city. Common sense suggests that a large chunk of the arrivals into Mumbai are business visitors. Although many meetings and conferences are held in Mumbai, we are not among the world’s most popular conference venues. Why? I think it’s because conferences are not just about business - they’re also about entertainment. And Mumbai, despite being the entertainment capital of India, has no entertainment for tourists.  In other countries, people queue up to fork out significant amounts of money to see professionally...

- by Deepa Krishnan Somebody in their wisdom has decided to redesign Plaza Cinema in Dadar. I am not happy. Here is the old design that I used to like much better. More fun and interesting. And it acknowledged the beauty of the stupa at Sanchi, not to mention the big role of Ambedkar in reviving Buddhism. Ambedkar's chaityabhoomi is nearby in Shivaji Park.  I understand the desire to turn it into a multiplex. Single screen theatres are not going to make money. I just wish the new design was not so "modern". Also, it has all these little holes that are going to suck in dirt and I predict it will soon be a cobwebby mess. The dust and smoke at Plaza cinema signal is no joke. The rectangles sit oddly on the curved facade, if you ask me. The vegetable vendor in the sculpture thankfully is spared this modern thing, since his back is turned to it! Plaza has a history of makeovers. The famous movie director V Shantaram bought it from a Parsi owner in the 30's. Several of Shan...

- By Deepa Krishnan The pleasures of wandering through Bandra are many. Bollywood Art Project's Madhubala is one of them. It brings all of Madhubala's vivacity to Chapel Road! Earlier there was only the Anarkali painting, with Madhubala and Pradeep Kumar. But a year ago, the good folks at BAP added a solo Madhubala . I had posted earlier, their iconic Deewar one with Amitabh Bacchan: it is on the road going downhill towards Bandstand from Mehboob Studio. And here is the Rajesh Khanna one - capturing all the charm that made him Bollywood's first ever superstar. There is also an Amrish Puri (Mogambo) in Khar, but I have not seen it. BAP is planning a tribute to Yash Chopra also. May their tribe increase! More information here: Bollywood Art Project

By Deepa Krishnan For the last 6 years, NCPA has been organizing a Marathi Film Festival to showcase critically acclaimed and national award winning films. This year, I went with my friend Kiran to attend the screening of Shrihari Sathe's "Ek Hazaarachi Note".  The films screened at the festival are sub-titled in English. Although I can follow spoken Marathi well, it helped to have sub-titles, especially since Ek Hazaarachi Note is set in Vidarbha, and there were many nuances of the rural dialect that I could not otherwise follow. NCPA's Marathi Film Festival is called 'Nave Valan', meaning, New Directions. Valan actually means "turning"; and the festival's name aptly reflects the new-wave of Marathi films that we have been seeing recently. There has been a new-found interest in Marathi cinema since 2004, when Shwaas was selected as India's official entry for the Oscars. Budgets for Marathi cinema have increased; and we are also seeing an inc...

- By Deepa Krishnan I had a Bollywood day today. Saw a movie-shoot with Nana Patekar who (gasp) took off his shirt. OK, OK, there was a vest underneath but still, it was very much a case of dhakdhakheart . I am *not* old enough to be impervious to such stuff! Mercifully, I decided not to make a fool of myself and ask for a photograph.  Also, there were Anil Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. And a whole host of younger actors whose names I *am* too old to be familiar with. It was fun seeing the sets and the wardrobe guys and all the hard work that goes into the shoot. The scene they were filming was a party, into which Anil Kapoor swaggers in. Then he has a face-off with Nana Patekar. I loved all the glam girls and guys and how they sweated under the sun, but all smartened up miraculously when the director yelled Aaaaaction!! I especially loved how they made fake alcohol and filled it into cocktail and wine glasses. I also saw lots of sets. Like this one, of a courtroom, with a lawyer argui...

- By Deepa Krishnan There's a little pink house in Dharavi, where dreams are made. When you look at it, it doesn't seem very different from many others in the area. What sets it apart is kids like this one below, who come here with stars in their eyes. This little kid is Gulam Mustafa Khan. He is 11 years old, and he wants to be a movie star. Every Sunday, his mother brings him to this little pink house, to learn acting and dancing.  Sitting next to Gulam and his mother is Ikram. He is Gulam's "mamu" - his mother's brother. Irfan wants to become a dancer. And here is the man who they hope will make these dreams come true: Baburao Lad. Producter, actor, teacher, dancer, painter, photographer - Baburao is a multi-talented guy who polishes and converts Dharavi's many hopefuls into star material. Baburao has even published a book: it's called Acting Master, and it has all the do's and don'ts for success in Bollywood.  The loft of the pink house is ...