Four-year-old Mayank Patil, who underwent a liver transplant at Jupiter Hospital, Thane, was discharged on Thursday, after over a thousand donors from across India and overseas helped his family by contributing through crowd-funding platforms. Nearly R16.5 lakh was raised overnight through social media, after mid-day's story on Wednesday, 'Hellish health turn for Nashik family'.

The management of Jupiter Hospital had also extended support to the family. They waived off half the billing amount and stood by their quotation given to Mayank's father at the time of the transplant, Rs 15 lakh. The hospital was paid around Rs 18.45 lakh (Rs 16.50 collected from milaap, Rs 1.45 lakh from trusts and charitable institutions, and Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Minister's Fund).

"Unfortunately, in Mayank's case, his stay and treatment in the hospital prolonged due to certain complications. In all cases of post-operative complications in pediatric transplant patients, Jupiter Hospital, as a policy, waives off the amount incurred in the bill beyond the pre-fixed package cost. In an effort to relieve the family from any stress related to money, our team also raised a substantial amount through various foundations and trusts that the hospital was following up with," said the hospital spokesperson.

Mayank will have to go to Jupiter Hospital for regular check-ups. Pic/Sameer Markande

"We are grateful to the Good Samaritans who have generously donated and helped us in getting back the smile on the little child's face. The additional funds that have been collected through these funds, will be used for the medicines and follow-ups once Mayank goes home," added the hospital spokesperson.

Donations overnight
mid-day readers from Mumbai and overseas had contacted Harish Patil, Mayank's father, who directed them to the milaap portal (a crowd-funding platform), which had started an online campaign. The portal collected almost Rs 16.50 lakh overnight, donated by 1,142 Good Samaritans from India and overseas for Mayank. Anoj Viswanathan, president and co-founder milaap said, "The kindness of strangers was the miracle that saved Mayank's life. The entire amount of nearly R16.50 lakh was raised overnight through social media. It is extremely heartening how the world stepped forward to help the Patils."

Asked if people still can donate for Mayank, the portal spokesperson replied in the negative, stating, "Since we have already collected more than the required funds, the page will be paused for any further donations." Another crowd-funding portal, Ketto, collected R15,175 contributed by eight donors, which will be given to the parents soon. "This is one of the most amazing examples of how the community nowadays steps up to help families with financial problems," said Varun Sheth, CEO Ketto. Some Good Samaritans even visited Jupiter Hospital to give financial support to Harish. Rishi Gangoli, senior manager at ESPN, and his colleagues, contributed Rs 30,000, a cheque for which was handed to Harish.

Doctor overwhelmed, too
Dr Gaurav Chaubal, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon at Jupiter Hospital said, "We have asked Mayank's parents to get him to hospital for a regular follow-up at least for next one month and have advised them to give him only home cooked food. I am also overwhelmed to see such an amazing number of people come forward overnight to help the cause."

'Every paisa for Mayank'
Both Harish, 35, and Jyoti, 29, Mayank's parents, are overwhelmed with the financial support that they received. "We had only heard that Mumbaikars have a heart that cares. We are grateful to every donor who opened his/her heart for my Mayank. We will always be indebted to them," said an emotional Harish.

Harish also thanked this newspaper for highlighting Mayank's case. When it was suggested that he could get Jyoti's reconstructive surgery performed through these funds, Harish responded firmly saying, "This money has come from people who have read about my son's health condition. I will ensure that every paisa is only used for his treatment. I will work hard and raise funds for my wife's surgery." He has rented a place in Ulhasnagar at Rs 3,500 a month, to take Mayank to the hospital for regular check ups.

1,142
No. of donors who came forward to help Mayank

Rs 18.45 lakh
Entire amount donated by Good Samaritans, trusts, charitable institutions and the CM's fund

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Two years ago, Jaidwaj Malhotra was running a Google search for a motor for his model airplane when he instead started reading about drones and how to build them. He was immediately taken in by the little object that could fly at 120 km per hour. Today, the 18-year-old is working for an organisation, helping them design surveillance drones for the Indian Army.

Malhotra is part of a tight-knit community of young drone racers in the city that came into being around the time the Indian Drone Racing League (IDRL) was founded by Karan Kamdar in 2016. Over the past two years, the field has gained a sizeable traction with IDRL having 875 pilots registered with them from all over India. The pursuit is expensive.

Building a drone can cost as much as '40,000, and the not-so-cheap batteries must be replaced every three months. The police continues to remain suspicious of fliers. However, for these pumped up youngsters, no obstacle is too big. Even with the odds stacked against them, they are finding ways to let their dreams fly.

'Burnt the circuit board while building my first drone'
Jaidwaj Malhotra, 18

His father being into aero-modelling, Juhu resident Jaidwaj Malhotra has always had a fascination for flying objects. Two years ago he participated in an aeromodelling competition held by Boeing, at the IIT TechFest. Around the same time, he came across the drone, or the "quadcopter". "If you want to fly a drone, it is important that you build it as well. You need to understand the mechanics, to ensure best control. And, in case of trouble, you must know how to fix it in a second," Malhotra says. Like Nayak, he too is a self-taught drone-maker, who got all his knowledge from the Internet.

Jaidwaj Malhotra. Pic/Satej Shinde

"My first attempt was not successful. I burnt the circuit board. But, you live and learn," says the first-year mechanical engineering student. He spread the word on his drone-making abilities on social media and soon people began to approach him. "That's how I got roped in by a startup to design UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for the Army." When he doesn't have exams, he practises six hours a day on a track that he builds himself, on the Jamnabai School Grounds. "A racing track comprises elements like gates, flags and cones that act as obstacles. I practise on one track, then change it completely and practise again."

One Race I want to participate in: World Drone Prix

'I am the first pilot to register from the country'
Siddharth Nayak, 26

Employed in the construction sector, Nayak is currently neck-deep into the Mumbai Metro project. It's only in the weekends that he manages to fly. "Sometimes, it's not even that, as there are working Sundays too," he tells us. Nayak, who grew up in Nala Sopara and got a degree in instrumentation engineering from a Vasai's Vartak college, has always been keen on robotics. "But, that was mostly stuff on land; I had a craze for flying."

Siddharth Nayak. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Randomly stumbling upon a drone-racing video on YouTube in 2016 was a deciding moment for him. Nayak, of course, had no experience in drones up until that point. He went through several tutorials online and managed to build his first drone. "I tried it out in the dried salt pans in Vasai, where there were no people. It went up till about 30 feet," he says, speaking of his test run.

The height is not the point of importance in drone racing, where they race not more than seven feet above the ground. "It's precision and control that counts, because you're flying at 120 kmph. It's a lot tougher to control drones at a lower height." Nayak had his first race in IIT Gandhinagar in 2016 and his latest victory was last month at Smaaash, besides three races in Kochi and Pilani. "I had once quit my job to do this professionally, but that didn't work," he says with a smile. Nayak's next aim is to represent an organisation as a drone racer. "My dream is to represent India as a drone racer in an international league, someday."

One Race I want to participate in: Drone Champion League

'I sold my first drone to build my second one'
Himadri Roy, 21

When he was in Std X, Himadri Roy asked his father for money to build his first drone. "I had done my research. I showed him the outline of my plan, which I had developed after going through hundreds of tutorials and blogs. When he saw that I was not talking out of thin air, he agreed," says Roy. The first drone that he built had a larger frame and was heavy. It took him over a month to finish, with help from his father. "Now, I can build it in a week." In the years that followed, he upgraded his machine. "I learnt about more sophisticated methods online and then I sold my first drone to a friend who is an engineer, and used that money to build my second one. This one is a racing drone. It's smaller, faster and more agile." Roy, who was a member of an online forum called Remote Controlled India, came across IDRL on it. He got invited to his first race in Gandhinagar in 2016. "I did a few laps and crashed. It's crucial to keep your mind steady in this race. If you worry you'll crash, you will. I have become calmer now."

Himadri Roy. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

He uses the same calm to deal with authorities when they come in the way. "The laws regarding droning are not clear in India. So, the police continues to stop us. Last week, a police vehicle followed me while I was flying. When something like that happens, I try to explain that it is a sport. I also let them watch the video feed that has recorded what the drone has seen, so they know that we are anything but troublemakers." Currently, he is employing his drone knowledge in his fourth year project. "We are trying to develop drones that can be used for industry surveillance, to identify defects in mobile towers, in particular," he says.

One Race I want to participate in: Smaaash Drone Race at Gateway of India

Have a love for ice-creams but don't want the calories to settle it into those arms? Perhaps slurping on a Michelle Melt might be more appetising. In 2009, a Washington based restaurant named a ice-cream after the then First Lady. But, why look as far as America? Here in Mumbai alone, various restaurants have named dishes after not just Bollywood celebs but even famous painters. Here's where to go celeb-hopping for your tummy.

The Big Bachchan Slider Bombay Bronx, Breach Candy
The Bombay Bronx at Breach Candy is known for all things Mumbai. Apart from the community table inspired by the dabbawalas, a railway map and a huge painting of Amitabh Bachchan on the wall, the food too is an ode to the city and its people. Therefore, it's not surprising to see a chicken slider dedicated to Big B.

Pic/Bipin Kokate

"The idea came to us when we were making a wall poster dedicated to him," says owner Nakuul Kumar. The grilled slider is made with chicken keema, caramalised onions, tomato slices, cheese, lettuce and served with gun powder mayo. Having named it after one of the biggest names in the country, naturally makes the appetiser a crowd puller. "It gives you a direct hint that it's going to be big and fabulous just like Bachchan," he laughs.

Da Vinci Tini Hoppipola, Khar
No prizes for guessing that  Hoppipola's dessert cocktail, made with Baileys, cream and vodka espresso, is inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci. The drink is served with a painting brush and palette, where the "colours" include three types of chocolate — dark, white and caramel. Patrons are encouraged to paint inside and outside the glass, in a manner of getting playful with chocolate.

Rs 495

Sandeep Sharma, bartender, says, "The idea is to engage our customers, be it through games, or through our drinks?" Initially, they would ask customers to slip in behind the bar counter and try out the activity. "But, that proved tedious. So, we came up with this concept. And because it's to do with painting, who better than Da Vinci, to salute?"

RajiniKhanth Dosa The Junction, Mahim
Formerly an economics teacher at HR College, Vikram R Jumani has always been a huge film buff. When he introduced a line of experimental fusion dosas at his restaurant, he was clear that he wanted to doff his hat to the cinematic greats of Bollywood and also down South.

Rs 99

"In the South it's of course Rajinikanth and here, it's the three Khans. That's why the name is RajiniKhanth." The dosa in question is a spin-off on the pav bhaji dosa, wherein the bhaji is cooked on the dosa and the process is a spectacle for the customers to see. Jumani was aware that the name would catch on. "The taste was a deciding factor in the popularity of the dosa. It's a superhit item," he says.

Sonam Kapoor's cake Healthy Treats, Pali Hill
Divya Ranglani's patrons include Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar. But it's a Sonam Kapoor cake that made her go viral in 2016. "She would order cakes from us quite often. And one day, she decided to post a testimonial where she said the orange and dark chocolate cake is to die for. This was when nobody knew about us," she says.

Rs 1,200 per kg

After that, calls started pouring in to order the 'Sonam Kapoor cake' and before they knew it, the orange and dark chocolate cake had been rechristened. Now that Kapoor has turned vegan, Ranglani has started baking gluten-free and vegan version of the same.

Dylan's Galouti Kebab Raasta, Khar
Since music is second nature to Raasta, owner Joy Singh wanted a dish named after American singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan.

Rs 355

"He is a revolutionary artiste. But we wanted the dish to be of Indian origin, because he loves the country," he says. Singh chose the galouti kebab and gave it a vegetarian twist as Dylan is rumoured to be a vegetarian. "His love for 'magic mushrooms' — fungi famed for their psychedelic effects — led us to choose mushrooms as the main ingredient. After a number of trials we finalised this galouti and named it as Dylan's Galouti," he says.

Lord Brown's Gift Gymkhana 91, Lower Parel
At Gymkhana 91, you can drink to Lord Burdoch Brown's legacy. Concocted using Jim Beam, pineapple juice, peach juice and smoked cinnamon, it is a refreshing and not-too-potent drink dedicated to the British officer for his contribution to spices.

Rs 595. Pic/Ashish Raje

"Brown established the Ancharakany Cinnamon Estate in 1767 under the East India Company. It's reputed to be Asia's largest Cinnamon estate," says owner Aditya Hegde, who introduced the cocktail last September. Since then, it has naturally got guests curious.

"They do ask about the name and story behind it as the drink also involves drama and theatre, because the smoking of the drink is done in front of the guests at the table," he adds. Hegde says it is common practice at Gymkhanas to dedicate dishes and drinks to somebody iconic, but not so in stand-alone restaurants. "We believe in giving due credit to the person to whom the dish belongs and that's how the trend started," he says.

Dara Singh Thali Mini Punjab's Lake Side, Powai
The Dara Singh thali is not for the weak-hearted. It packs in the best of unlimited eating. It has aloo paratha, chur chur de naan, makki di roti, murg mussalam rice, lamb  yoghurt curry, chicken Amritsari and lot more.

Rs 1,600 (non-veg) and Rs 1,200 (veg)

The accompaniments include four types of beverages, three chaat options, a soup, pickle, chutney and seven desserts. In all, the thali packs in 40 items. Jagjit Singh, co-owner says, "It needs a champion to finish it. And who better than our famous Indian professional wrestler Dara Singh.

Indians looked up to him as a role model." From Uttar Pradesh, to Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan, the thali brings together the best of North Indian flavours. While they have not met Dara Singh, his son Vindu Dara Singh has sampled this thali. "He was happy to see a thali named after his father. While eating, he was remembering nuggets about him and his father eating together from one plate during his childhood. Vindu loved the lamb yoghurt curry in the thali,"  adds Singh.

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50,000
The approximate books in the library of what used to be Mahatma Gandhi's Bombay headquarters during the freedom struggle

360
Books read by Gandhi that are housed in the museum

45
Books written by Gandhi that are part of the collection log on to gandhi-manibhavan.org

Six
The number of double decker tram models in the collection, which ran in the city from 1920 to 1964. Two of them are still functional

One
A trolley bus model that ran on an electric route between Gowalia Tank and Mazgaon from 1962 to 1971

Five
The total types of ticket-issuing machines in the museum log on to bestundertaking.com

82,795
Total documents (the oldest being from 1830s; with papers revealing the genesis of the company, and architectural and technical drawings including those of typewriter keyboards in regional languages)

52,006
Photographs (oldest being from 1880s with some taken by well-known industrial photographer Mitter Bedi in 1970s) in the archives

1,266
Memorabilia (including the ballot box made for the first election of independent India, along with models of typewriters, that of a refrigerator from 1958, steel cupboard from 1930s, safes, etc.)
Log on to: archives.godrej.com

780
Clay models in the collection of the oldest museum in the city

92
Miniature paintings

230
Total metal objects including artefacts in brass, bronze, copper, bell metal, koftagiri, bidri and photographs on metal
Log on to: bdlmuseum.org

60,000
Total exhibits, which include paintings, sculptures and numismatic

5,000
Natural history specimens in the collection of which 430 are currently on display

2,000
Chinese and Japanese art exhibits in the collection of which 1,100 are on display

4,000
Indian and non-Indian paintings and prints
Log on to: csmvs.in

10,000
Total exhibits of Indian coinage, paper currency, financial instruments and monetary curiosities

1,500
Exhibits that provide a ringside view of the birth of currencies
Log on to: rbi.org.in

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When we first lay our hands on Pashmina, we didn't know what to expect. And that perhaps, is one of the first indications of a good read. A coming-of-age graphic novel which explores the relationship between an Indian-American mother and her teenage daughter, illustrator and writer Nidhi Chanani's Pashmina (HarperCollins) is filled with magic and tied together in such a heartfelt narrative, it would be a challenge not to find bits of your own life in it.

Chanani says her affair with illustration began long ago and that the first step was to fall in love with art, which began when she started drawing as a child. The birth of Pashmina, she says, can be traced back to that phase of her life as well. "My inspiration for Pashmina came from a variety of sources: my mom, growing up in the US, my first trip to India, and the choices women make — all of these things are woven into the story. When I was younger my parents would travel to India often. When they returned, their suitcases had a pungent, almost magical smell — from a place that seemed very far away. I was probably 10 years old. Opening their suitcase made me feel close to this other world. In a way, I believe this story has been with me since then."

The relationship between Priyanka, the protagonist, and her mother hits home the hardest, in that it is an apt depiction of the dichotomy that characterises a quintessential Indian mother — egging us to be freer than they were but also being restrictive at the same time. Explaining what this depicts for her, Chanani says, "As I wrote Pashmina, it also became about the relationship between an immigrant mother and a first-generation daughter. Touching upon the layers of understandings and misunderstandings, I explored my own relationship with my mom. Priyanka, is a teenager and being one is hard enough, especially if you are glaringly different. Many of Priyanka's struggles are ones I experienced myself. She is not only racially different, she's a nerdy teacher's pet, she comes from a single-parent household, and doesn't have as much money as her Orange County counterparts. Her mother struggles to understand her and raise her with her Indian beliefs and values."

Nidhi Chanani

The story comes full circle when Priyanka finally visits Kolkata, her hometown (as well as Nidhi's) in a quest to understand more about her roots. Travelling solo to the country of her heritage forces Priyanka to break free of her sheltered life and grow up, to face herself and begin the process of seeing her mother as a whole person. "I wanted to explore a different path to India than I had experienced. My teenage understanding of India was tainted by poverty-stricken, third world imagery. How wonderful would it be if a young person learned about their culture through only positive representations? That's the root of Pashmina; opening a suitcase and travelling to a fantasy version of India where a character can learn about their heritage in a favourable light," Chanani says. While some aspects of Priyanka's life are similar to hers, the story is not autobiographical. "I love samosas and comics! However, unlike Priyanka, I grew up close to my family in India. Fortunately for me, I wasn't so alone," she shares.

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A frame from the series, Music for Everyone. Pic/Yuyang Liu

The town of Siem Reap in Cambodia is a fascinating blend of history, modernity and culture. While the magnificent temple complex of Angkor Wat is no more than 6 km away from the picturesque location, it is also home to artisan collectives and Cambodian Cultural Village that gives a glimpse of the country's diverse cultural heritage. Since 2005, the city has also been the venue for Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops (APFW), a non-profit cultural association founded by noted names in photography from across the world - including members of Magnum Photos - to nurture Asia's photographic community by providing an affordable and self-sustainable platform for professional training.

From the series, Two Eyes Good, Four Eyes Bad. Pic/Rebecca Chew

Over the years, emerging photographers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Japan and Cambodia among other Asian countries have attended tuition-free professional workshops, worked on a photo story inspired by their surroundings and showcased their project at the end of the festival. The APFW alumni community is a thriving one, where collaborations and creative exchange is common. Photographers from Mumbai, too, have participated in the festival, and to introduce emerging lensmen from the city to its upcoming edition in December, APFW alumni will conduct an interactive session this Saturday. The session, being held in Mumbai for the first time, is part the Angkor Hangover series of events organised across Asia.

From the series, Bokator, on young Cambodians trying to resurrect a traditional form of martial arts. Pic/Zishaan A Latif 

"The mentors are people whose work I admire. And when a group of 30 individuals with eclectic practices and realities specific to their countries come to learn from them, they also learn from each other," says freelance photographer and filmmaker Aishwarya Arumbakkam, who participated in the festival in 2016 and is one of the organisers of the Mumbai session. Multimedia projections by photographers from the 2016 batch are also a part of the evening.

From the series, Ahp. Pic/Aishwarya Arumbakkam

While applications are shortlisted on the basis of merit, freelance photographer and alumna Karen Dias explains that to keep the programme accessible and inclusive, there is no upper age limit for applicants. Fellow alumnus of the 2009 batch, Zishaan Akbar Latif, recalls, "As a budding photographer, you are terrified of showing your work, but you realise that others are in the same boat, too. Being in that quaint part of the world at a workshop that's different from its uptight counterparts helps you loosen up," he shares.

APFW organising committee member Andrea Fernandes, who has been associated with the festival for five years, sums up its nature, "This event is initiated by alumni and this is the direction we want the festival to go in - where every person associated can have a space to speak about their work and collaborations."

ON: May 12, 5 pm to 7 pm
AT: Trilogy by the Eternal Library, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel.
CALL: 8080590590

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Busy Mumbaikars who cannot stop at the local vegetable vendor have found increasing comfort in stocking up their groceries from online portals offering attractive discounts and home delivery, a recent study has found.

The study, titled, Assessing the Impact of Online Grocery Shopping in Mumbai found that middle class citizens spent the highest amount of time shopping online due to time constraints.

The study found that people between the age group of 35-45, primarily married couples, are regular user of online grocery shopping portals. Representation pic/Getty Images

The survey, conducted among 117 respondents in Mumbai, found that people between the age group of 35-45 are regular user of online grocery shopping portals like Amazon Pantry, Grofers, Nature's Basket, Big Basket and others.

Married couples are more regular on the sites as well, due to their nature of their jobs. It also observed that websites combining offers or discounts on products along with home delivery services were the main attraction for customers.

Pick-up points to collect groceries ordered online, like this one by D-Mart in Bandra east, have also proved to be a hit. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Dr Rupali Rajesh, associate professor at the Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies and Research, who published the paper, said accessibility and discounts offered are the main attractions for buyers.

"Mumbai is considered as one of the busiest cities where people have to commute for hours. It becomes really hectic for people to go for grocery shopping, which is why the demand for online grocery shopping is growing. I found out through my study that discounts and saving time were the two biggest parameters for deciding the mood of the buyers," Dr Rajesh said.

Dr Rupali Rajesh

"Our data shows that as many as 41.9 per cent of the surveyed people who regularly use online grocery portals are in the age group of 35-45 years. This is followed by the age group in 25-35, who have a daily usage rate of 31.6 per cent. While interviewing respondents, it was observed that 68 per cent of the users who fall into these two age categories were married. They have to handle office work along with domestic activities, which hardly laves them with enough time to go to the markets," added Dr Rajesh.

The study also revealed that citizens earning in the range of R1 lakh to 5 lakh annually did the highest amount of online grocery shopping, mainly due to discounts provided there. Most of these sites provide discounts on groceries, with several offering the highest discounts on weekends. It also pointed out that the possibility of replacing products, wide variety and availability also proved to be a factor for online shopping.

41.9% People in the age group of 35-45 who shop for groceries online

31.6% People in the age group of 25-35 who shop for groceries online

68% Married couples in the two age groups who shop online

Rs 1 lakh -Rs 5 lakh Income range of middle class online shoppers

(The survey was conducted among 117 participants)

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Bombay To Barcelona Library Cafe in Marol and a tray of herbs

While many high-end restaurants in the city are struggling to execute the farm-to-table experience, street kid-turned-author Amin Sheikh has found a way to add fresh herbs into the fare prepared at this four-month old Bombay To Barcelona Library Cafe in Marol. Sheikh, who launched the café to help provide employment to street boys and girls and give back to society, has installed a vertical garden in the premises. “At the café, everything is made-to-order.

We wanted to enhance the organic experience by adding fresh produce,” says the 35-year-old, who received the modular, four-tier, self-watering system from the Mumbai-based start-up Enverde, specialising in urban farming. The owners happen to be regulars at the cafe.

“I bought herbs like basil, lemongrass, parsley, oregano, coriander and even spinach from a nursery at Bhavan’s College, and planted them last week. We get ample sunlight so we will wait for the plants to grow and then use them in the food,” informs Sheikh, who had earlier visited farmers’ markets but found the produce too expensive.

The café was launched with the funds Sheikh had gathered from the sale of his autobiography Bombay Mumbai Life Is Life I Am Because Of You (self-published in 2012), which captures his gritty success story. Run by seven staffers, it serves Spanish tapas, Spaghetti, sandwiches, rolls, muffins as well as Indian fare — all the dishes are priced under `200. “A friend of mine in Spain, a chef, just finished a nine-day training with the boys,” shares Sheikh, who plans on launching the café in Barcelona too.

Time: 10 am to 10 pm
At: 3 and 4, Gold Nest Housing Society, Marol Naka, Andheri (E)
Call: 9820212029

Thje city is facing many challenges amid the Coronavirus lockdown, but the one thing in its favour is the water stock. The lakes that provide water to the city have enough water to fulfil the city's needs through the summer.

As of Monday, the lakes have 29 per cent of the water stock, which will last for almost another 80 days, that is, until July.

This means, there will be no water cut this summer. Last year, when the city was facing a water cut, the total water stock was 19 per cent on the same date.

The BMC had imposed a 10 per cent water cut from November 2018 till July 2019. During the last monsoon, the lakes received rain till early December and as such, the water stock is still

The seven lakes — Bhatsa, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tulsi and Vihar — supply water to the city.

Their total water storage capacity is 14.47 lakhs MLD (million litres per day). As of Monday, there is 4.31 lakh MLD water in the lakes.

Last year, on the same date, the water stock was 2.88 lakh MLD.

The BMC supplies 3,800 MLD water to the city every day. Around 700 MLD water is being used by industries while the floating population — people coming from other cities — use around 50 MLD water.

"After the lockdown, the industrial water supply is obviously reduced but the city gets normal water supply. It means there is more water for residential areas," said Ashok Rathore, chief of the Hydraulic Engineering Department.

Due to the manpower crunch, the meter reading has not been taken and the exact use by industries and residences has not been measured.

As per the IMD forecast, the monsoon will be normal this year.

29
Percentage of water stock currently available

Available water stock (in mn litres)

Upper Vaitarna: 2,802
Modak Sagar: 61,632
Tansa: 38,539
Middle Vaitarna: 89,953
Bhatsa: 224,881
Vihar: 10,133
Tulsi: 3,478
Total: 4,31,418

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The city's battle against the COVID-19 has finally started to show some positive results with the doubling rate of positive cases increasing from 8.3 days to 10 days. According to findings of the Central Committee, the doubling rate of cases was recorded between April 7 and April 17, which indicates that cases might now increase at lesser speed. While the doubling rate period at the national level is 9.5 days, the same in Maharashtra was 8.9 days.

Noting this, the Central Committee has lauded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) preventive measures, said a senior civic official.

Mortality rate decreases
In its findings, the Committee has analysed the number of infected patients and observed that the mortality rate among them in the BMC area was lower compared to that of the state. At the state level, an average of 4.3 patients are dying per 100 infected patients and in the BMC area, an average of 3.9 patients are dying every 100 infected patients. A civic official said that few days ago the average mortality rate of infected cases in the BMC area was 6.3 per cent, which too had reduced.

However, BMC now faces the challenge to cater to areas where earlier the rate of doubling of cases was low but has increased in the last couple of days. Wards like G South, G North and E, which have been reporting a high number of cases, are seeing an increase in the doubling rate period.

Earlier, on an average the cases used to double every 10.6 days in G south but now it has gone up to 17.6 days. But R central ward has seen a reverse trend. Its doubling rate period has gone down to 5.5 days from 16.9 days.

Contact tracing
The first COVID-19 positive case was detected on March 11, and since then the civic body has been tracing contacts of positive patients. Till April 26, as many as 1,29,477 were found through contact tracing, of which 21,053 were high-risk group contacts and 1,647 cases were positive.

The BMC, however, claimed that they were being able to control the number of cases due to the containment zones as people cannot move from one area to another and spread the infection. An analysis of the statistics of medical tests conducted across the country reveals that comparatively most number of the tests had taken place in the BMC jurisdiction. As many as 66,000 tests have been conducted in the city so far, an official said.

Containment efforts
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior civic official said, "The doubling rate period of 10 days is better than the national average of 9.5 and the mortality rate of 3.9 is better than the state as well as national figures. This has been done through containment efforts and aggressive contact tracing and quarantining."

He added, "Today, the battle against Coronavirus is being fought with the active cooperation of the municipal corporation, police, various government departments, private hospitals and many others. We once again appeal to the citizens of Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation to follow the guidelines."

21,053
No. of high-risk group contacts found till April 26

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THE city's congested areas continue to see a rapid increase in the number of Containment Zones (CZ) as a result of positive cases in such areas across wards. Out of the total 1,391 CZs in the city, 779 (56 per cent) are in high density areas.

While the southern part of the city — Worli, Dharavi and Byculla has been the centre of COVID-19 cases, in the past 10 days, the northern and eastern part of the city have also seen CZs rise. The Kurla-Chembur belt in Eastern suburbs and the Jogeshwari-Andheri belt in western suburbs, together have nearly 25 per cent of the city's CZs. Out of the 1,391 active CZs, these two together have 322. Byculla too has seen a significant rise.

In the L ward, comprising Kurla and Chembur, CZs increased from 58 to 176 in the past 10 days, with 140 being in congested areas. Most parts of the ward are slum pockets. Assistant Commissioner Manish Valanju was unavailable for comment.

K West ward, comprising Jogeshwari to Vileparle West, has 146 active CZs, of which 92 are in congested areas like slums and gaonthans. The local ward officer said that the number is high because of the sealing of small pockets and not whole areas. "We are closing access to smaller areas instead of closing large chunks. It helps manage essential services. Hence the numbers are high," said Vishwas Mote, assistant commissioner of the K West ward. He added that the most number of CZs are in congested areas like Gilbert Hill, Behram Baug, Gillette Nagar, Anand Nagar and Versova Koliwada.

E ward, that comprises Byculla, has over 100 CZs, of which 37 are in congested areas. Dharavi (G North), Parel-Worli (G South) and Santacruz E to Bandra E (H East) also have a high number of CZs.

The above six wards have 721 CZs, of which 430 are in congested areas. "The increased cases in congested areas is the outcome of the targeted approach for identification of COVID-19 suspects and testing," said a senior BMC officer. The officer added that the strategy includes proactive contact-tracing, containing pockets, house-to-house surveys of contained pockets, fever camps and identifying suspected cases.

Doctors wearing PPE suits prepare to enter Jijamata Nagar, a containment zone in Worli. Pic/ Ashish Raje

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, said, There is a personal, social and economical angle to containment zones. If we can quarantine high-risk contacts from these zones and people follow basic hygiene and social distancing, the lockdown can be eased to some extent. It will also benefit society at large and will even be helpful for the economy. There are secondary industries in congested areas which provide raw material or services to mainstream industries. If the number of positive patients comes down in places like Dharavi, it will surely help the economy of the entire city."

Mumbai's Containment Zones (CZ)

Active CZs: 1,391
Released: 318

Wards with high CZs (on April 18 and April 28)

L: 58 and 176
K West: 59 and146
E: 53 and123
G South: 81 and 92
H East: 53 and96
G north: 15 and 88

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Over the past six days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has recorded a total of 124 COVID-19 deaths, almost double of the toll recorded between April 22 and April 27 (59), making it one of the major causes of concern for the city. With four BMC workers succumbing to the viral infection in the last two days, 21 deaths were reported just on Sunday.

Of the 124 deaths, 60 are in the age group of 40 to 60 years, three are aged below 40, and the remaining 61 are above 60 years of age. As per the civic body's data, 2,144 new cases and 59 deaths were reported between April 22 and April 27. Another 3,024 cases got added between April 28 and May 3. Meanwhile, 441 new cases were reported on Sunday taking the city's tally to 8,613.

Sources in the BMC said that they had formed a four-tier system to deal with the COVID-19 cases. Around 2,000 asymptomatic patients have been shifted from hospitals to COVID-19 quarantine centres across the city so that the health workers can focus on the treatment of serious patients.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in Dharavi is also increasing by the day. On Sunday, 94 new cases and two deaths were reported in the area. So far, the total number of patients in the largest slum of the city has reached 590 with 20 deaths. Mahim has reported 16 new cases with the total being 68 in the area.

Four BMC workers die
A total of four BMC workers, including a BEST staff, involved in fieldwork related to COVID-19 have died over the past two days.

A 46-year-old staff was working in the labour ward of civic-run Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, where a pregnant woman had tested positive for the virus. The worker was a high-risk contact and had tested positive for the virus too, after which he was admitted to Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar. However, he succumbed to the infection on Saturday.

One motor loader, 49, working with the solid waste management department in BMC died due to the viral infection on Saturday. Another worker of N ward and deputed at the MCMCR training unit in Powai for COVID-19 related work died the same day.

Speaking to mid-day, Ramakant Bane, general secretary of the municipal union, said, "The workers are worried about their and their family members' health. With the growing number of COVID-19 cases, the BMC should test their workers on priority."

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The city's record for the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day increased to 769 on Wednesday as the total count reached 12,716. Bracing for more cases in the coming days, the civic body is planning to set up additional COVID-19 care centres in various open spaces across the city.

Civic officials said that the new COVID-19 centres will come up at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Science Centre, MMRDA grounds in BKC, Mahim Nature Park and NESCO ground in Goregaon. Once the work is complete, civic officials said that the current capacity of 14,000 beds will increase to 34,000 beds. For critical patients, the capacity will be increased from 3,000 beds to 4,750 beds in hospitals like Nair, KEM and SevenHills. Additionally, ICU beds will be set up at the centre in NSCI.

The G South ward (comprising Worli) with 903 cases and G North (comprising Dharavi) with 888 cases, continued to have the highest concentration of positive cases. While three deaths were reported from the G South ward, one was reported from Dharavi where a 64-year-old male resident of Naik Nagar died on Wednesday. Civic officials from G North ward said that 68 new cases were reported in Dharavi, eight in Dadar and 11 in Mahim. Civic officials in G South ward said 25 new cases were reported on Wednesday.

State health officials reported 1,233 new cases in Maharashtra and the total count of COVID-19 cases now stands at 16,758. There were 34 COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday of which 26 were in Mumbai which included one patient who was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, three in Pune, three in Akola and one each in Jalgaon and Solapur.

While 18 of the deaths involved patients who were senior citizens, 13 of them fell in the age group of 40-59 years and 27 of the patients were suffering from other ailments. Till date, Maharashtra has had 651 deaths due to COVID-19 and till date, 3,094 COVID patients have been discharged after a full recovery. Currently, more than 2 lakh people are under home quarantine while 13,107 people are kept at quarantine facilities.

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Thousands of migrants working in the power looms at Bhiwandi set out on foot for their villages hundreds of kilometres away earlier this week. While these migrants face an enormously difficult journey with almost zero resources, those who have stayed back are also on the brink of starvation.

The Maharashtra government has been assuring of help for migrant workers should they stay back amid the COVID-19-caused lockdown. Though the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) is offering food packets, the power loom workers say the quality of the food is inferior.

"The municipality has been giving khichdi for 15 days and the ingredients are rice and turmeric powder. Sometimes they mix vegetables in it. But the food quality is absolutely inferior, it cannot be eaten by any human being. Being a labourer does not mean that we will eat toxic food. The food smells and makes us nauseous," said Manzar Alam, a native of Bihar.

"It is the month of Ramzan and most of us are fasting. But after eating bad quality food, some of us vomited and had to break the fast," said Alam, adding that power loom owners are not helping either and that many are breaking their fast only with water.

"The power loom owner does not respond to our calls. He either switches off his mobile phone or blocks our number," said Mohammad Sahid, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh.

Raw ration only for state residents
Another power loom worker, Jalaluddin Ansari said workers get food once a day. "We have not been given raw ration by the state government. In this crisis, we have to wait in long queues for langar distributed by social workers," said Ansari.

There are seven lakh registered power looms in Bhiwandi

"There was a queue of nearly 200 workers on Monday. By the time my turn came, food was over. So, I rushed to another langar half-a-kilometre away and stood in another queue. But here too, the food finished," said Ansari, who did not eat anything on Monday.

"On Tuesday, I got food but it was not very little. This is the reality of many workers who did not dare to walk home. The state government is providing raw ration to only those who are from Maharashtra. We are not given any ration," said Ansari, whose co-workers Abdul Ali and Mohammad Younus echoed his views.

Workers say they are being given khichdi - the ingredients of which are usually rice and turmeric — in the food packet for the past 15 days

A few workers from Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh tried to go home in a truck recently. "A truck driver agreed to transport us to our native place. He took R2,500 from each worker. We started our journey a few days ago, but police at Karjat stopped the vehicle and caned the driver badly. We were forced to return to hell with no food," said Ali.

Nearly 3,000 workers rushed to the State Transport bus depot in Bhiwandi on Tuesday. mid-day spoke to a few of them and asked if they had any idea about when they would return to Bhiwandi to resume work: "Humlogo ke paas aur kya hai kamane ke liye?" said Yashpal, a native of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.

"It is a pandemic and the whole world is reeling under a financial crisis. We don't know what will happen to us as I have heard that big companies are downsising. We are not sure if the owners of power looms will downsize too," said Sahil.

A ray of light
There is confusion among workers regarding how and where they can get registered to travel home in trains. However, a power loom owner Parvez Alam Ansari has been helping his employees.

"I have told my workers not to panic. I have been providing them with ration, vegetables, etc. and they have been preparing meals for themselves. The power loom is shut but these workers are our assets. I cannot afford to keep them stranded amid a crisis," Ansari said.

Civic body's help mismanaged
"There are seven lakh registered power looms employing around three to four lakh migrant labourers. As per our estimate, more than one lakh people want to leave the city as they don't have work and are not getting food. We are doing our best to provide food but it's been more than a month now and the assistance provided by the local corporation is mismanaged. Now our priority is to help those who want to go to their home states, such as Uttar Pradesh, which is not cooperating with Maharashtra," said local MLA Rais Shaikh.

'We resolved all complaints'
According to Pravin Ashtikar, the chief of BNCMC, initially, there were a lot of complaints regarding food quality and its supply, but all have been resolved. "We are not denying that complaints were received from people but I must tell you that we listen to them and now things have improved in the past week. There have been no complaints about the food as far as quality and supply are concerned. There are several NGOs working with us and we are supplying 80,000 food packets daily. The migrants who want to leave just want to go home because the lockdown has been extended. Most of the migrants have been taken care of by us and their employers," said Ashtikar.

Ashtikar added that so far there are 20 cases of Coronavirus in Bhiwandi city, of which two have recovered and 290 are in institutional quarantine. "We started preparing for COVID-19 in the second week of march — we procured equipment for disinfecting and started sanitising the area much in advance. As you see the result, all positive cases in Bhiwandi have come from other areas. We have successfully stopped community transmission despite a high population. Currently, Bhiwandi has a population of over 8 lakh. We started door-to-door screening last week, targeting the most vulnerable people, and 75 per cent of the survey is complete. So far, 1,011 people are found to be vulnerable as they are suffering from other ailments and we are taking care of them," Ashtikar added.

80K
Food packets Bhiwandi civic body claims it is providing

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Encouraging everyone around him to stay indoors, Mayur Jadhav himself has been visiting various containment zones in Lokhandwala and Oshiwara wearing a PPE suit for three to four hours daily. A frontline worker, Jadhav does the risky job of collecting bio-medical waste from residential buildings and COVID-19 quarantines.

Amid the Coronavirus-caused lockdown, people are asked to put household waste in black bags and bio-medical waste — gloves, masks and items touched by COVID-19 patients, staffers at a quarantine facility — in yellow bags.

Like Jadhav, conservancy workers dealing with bio-medical waste are trained for the task. Jadhav, 30, resides at Durgadevi Chawl, Vakola and after weeks of practice, he is comfortable with the job. "Initially, I was worried as I had heard many were getting sick. But once we get the hang of it, we do the work without problems. Every day, we put sanitiser and spray disinfectant on the yellow bag and wait for five minutes before loading it on the vehicle meant only for yellow bags," he said. In K West ward, there are over 650 COVID-19 cases and over 300 containment zones.

'Made wife understand'

Rishikesh Dhotre, 43, is among the workers residing far from his workplace and spends over 10 hours outdoors. He leaves his Nalasopara residence 4:45 am for Worli and returns home around 3:30 pm. "I was nervous as we were visiting places everyone was asked to avoid. My wife would fight and ask why I am the one to go. But gradually, I understood the precautions we have to take and explained them to my wife. She is worried but understands the importance of the job," Dhotre said.

While Dhotre is glad to have access to fresh PPE kits every day, he also has to contend with how hot it gets during the three-hour collection.

Worried about family

Conservancy workers constantly worry about their family members, especially senior citizens at a higher risk of infection. Sarthak Chandramani, 29, works in G North ward comprising Dharavi. He takes extra precautions once he reaches home as he has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and 63-year-old father.

"I don't touch my phone after wearing the PPE and I call my family before I reach home. They have strict instructions to leave the house and keep a bucket of hot water and soap near the door. They are only allowed to enter after I have soaked my clothes in the bucket and gone for a bath," he said.

Chandramani often picks up medical waste falling out of the garbage bags with his hands. "People often overstuff garbage bags and then they can't be tied. Waste falls out from overflowing bags and we have to disinfect it, put back in the bag and disinfect the bag again," he said. Chandramani lives in BDD chawl, another high-risk area.

After the recent death of a civic official on food-distribution duty in Dharavi due to COVID-19, the BMC is screening all staffers. Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, G North ward, said, "We have around 900 labourers collecting waste and there are 200 containment zones in this ward. We conduct screening once a week and check for fever with infrared thermometers. We have also counselled staffers to immediately report symptoms," he said.

Where is biomedical waste taken?

Medical waste is taken to a biomedical facility managed by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at Deonar. Amar Supate, principal scientific officer with MPCB said that since March 29, the facility has processed 11 tonnes of COVID-19 waste from Containment Zones and other biomedical waste.
"The yellow bags are directly put into the incinerator. Other kinds of plastic waste, glass vials, injections or syringes and scalpels are sterilised with sodium hypochlorite and then shredded for recycling," Supate said.

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Former don Arun Gawli's daughter Yogita married Marathi actor Akshay Waghmare in a simple traditional ceremony at their Dagadi Chawl residence in central Mumbai on Friday amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

The bride and the groom, along with their families were seen wearing masks during the wedding ceremony. Due to the lockdown in place, they restricted their guest list to only three-four people from both families.

Arun Gawli

The family had informed the Agripada police about the ceremony and only three to four guests each from both families who were attending the wedding, an official told PTI. The families had also assured the police that they will follow the lockdown rules while conducting the wedding rituals, he said.

The wedding was reportedly scheduled to take place on March 29, but was postponed due to the lockdown, a source from the family told PTI.

Gawli, who is serving a life sentence in the 2007 Kamlakar Jamsandekar murder case, has been out on parole.

(With inputs from PTI)

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A day after former Navi Mumbai mayor Jayawant Sutar threatened to take the matter of increasing COVID-19 cases at Agricultural Produce Market Committee market in Vashi to the higher-ups, officials at a high-level meeting unanimously decided to shut it from May 11 to May 17.

All five markets — vegetable, fruit, grain, dry fruit and spice — will remain shut from Monday till the lockdown ends. The market will remain open this weekend. NMMC Commissioner Annasaheb Misal, Maharashtra principal secretary (marketing) Anoop Kumar, IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, Konkan Divisional Commissioner Shivaji Daund, APMC police officers and APMC traders were at the meet on Friday afternoon.

Daund told mid-day, "We will carry out extensive spraying of disinfectants during the shutdown and the APMC staff, including traders and APMC police, will be screened and tested. We will hold regular meetings through video conferencing to understand the momentum of work." He added that they will review the matter on May 15 to decide on a phased reopening or extension.

APMC Secretary and Administrator Anil Chavan, who also attended the meeting, said they decided to close the markets to contain the spread of COVID. "We will keep the market open this Saturday and Sunday so that essential supplies could be stocked for 10 days in Mumbai and neighbouring areas."

mid-day had, on Friday, reported about the Sutar, whose term as the Navi Mumbai mayor ended recently, demanding that market to be shut.

"I was going to write a letter to the central health team, too, but I am now informed that at a high-level meeting a decision was taken to shut the market for a week. It is evident that not only traders, but even their staff, and APMC mathadi workers were at high risk as they visit the market daily. Also, we have learnt that some APMC staffers would have had to take voluntary retirement had the market remained open. The traders are already terrified," he said.

Sutar added, "Had the government wanted they could have made an amendment to the existing APMC Act, and allowed him to continue as the mayor. But, they allowed the administrator and APMC to take the decisions."

Vijay Bhuta, director, APMC Spices Market, said there were only eight cases at the masala market so far. "Majority of the positive cases were reported from other markets in APMC." "Residents living around the market were concerned about the increasing number of cases," he added.

A resident of Turbhe village said, "On Friday, two more positive cases were reported in the village and both men worked at the APMC market. We have requested Turbhe and Kopri villagers to not allow APMC staffers in their locality to venture out." Sutar said he has raised the concern about people travelling to and from red zones.

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I am 19 years old and have been dating someone for 2 years now. We love each other very much but there is one thing I don’t like about him, which disturbs me a lot. He thinks I am fat, which is not right. I agree I don’t have a flat tummy, which is what he wants, but I am not fat. We have heated arguments about this. He also thinks crop tops don’t suit me. I have started dieting and going to the gym, working hard on my body even though my own parents don’t think it necessary. He still taunts me when he sees a girl with a perfect body, and this hurts me a lot. He should be with me and support me, but taunts me instead. I have spoken to him, but it doesn't seem to work. Please help. I can’t take more taunts.

Your boyfriend sounds like a moron, to be honest. I understand that you love him, but I can’t figure out why his idea of what you should look like and what you should wear should be accepted as a norm by you. It’s your life, your body and your decision to wear what you feel like. If you decide to accept his bizarre demands, you are setting a precedent for what the future of your relationship will be like. It’s not okay for someone to tell you how you should look. It’s not okay for someone to comment on what you wear. The only people who do that are ministers in our country, because they don’t really know better and because most of them haven’t been to school. Your love for your boyfriend should never be more than your love for yourself. If he doesn’t get that, he’s not worth being with. The sooner you understand that, the better your life will be, and the higher your chances of finding happiness with someone who accepts you unconditionally at some point in your future.

Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel has made his esports debut with the Legends Trophy organised by Torque Esports.

After being supplied with a simulator by Torque Esports company Allinsports, Vettel made his first appearance in esports competition fighting battles with the likes of former F1 racer and two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and fellow ex-Formula 1 World Champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Jenson Button.

Vettel's Ferrari teammate Chales LeClerc has been active on various esports platforms, participating from his Monaco apartment. LeClerc has won two virtual F1 races and taken part in a variety of other races.

Vettel finished 15th and 12th, respectively, in his two races but the four-time F1 champion was unlucky in both -- getting caught up in incidents that were not his fault on the rFactor 2 virtual version of the former home of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Montoya finished the day as the Legends Trophy points leader. He led home Button and ex-24 Hours of Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro in race one while finishing fifth in the reverse grid race, which was won by Fernandez over factory Aston Martin Le Mans winner Darren Turner and Pirro.

The Colombian was able to avoid first-lap drama in the opening race to take the victory.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Mojo's Bistro in Kamala Mills, Lower Parel

Gone are the days when a pub's interiors only made for a cool Insta frame. Today, design based on business sensibilities is having a bigger say in the blueprint. An idea that seems to have caught the attention of owners of new watering holes is to set up an island bar right in the middle of the venue.

Bring in the business
Owners agree that an island bar is accessible from all sides, and thus, results in better business. "In a space as big our Andheri outlet (6,500 sq ft), an island bar suits us perfectly. We didn't want it to be in a corner from where the bar wasn't visible. An island bar in the centre is more accessible, and the service is faster," says Dibyendu Bindal, partner at Agent Jack's.

Bindal feels that sourcing water supply and drainage facilities might be a challenge, but with advanced technology, these issues
can be overcome. Such a placement also offers more space for guests to hang out with their drinks for longer.

The island bar at Andheri's Agent Jack's

Add to the theme
For others, an island bar works as an extension to the décor. A case in point: Juhu's seaside bar, Estella. "We wanted its look and feel to be like a deck. Since we are situated by the sea, we decided to have an island bar and make it a conversation point. It instantly draws guests, like an island would draw visitors," reasons Hitesh Keswani, director, Silver Beach Entertainment and Hospitality. Keswani echoes Bindal's logic when he says that such a design manages to woo more guests as it ensures easier interaction with the bar team.

Pritina Shrestha, managing director, Mojo's Bistro was clear that their spacious open-air venue in Lower Parel would host a bar in the centre. "Four-sided access is not just a quicker way for people to get their drinks, but also gives a 360-degree view to guests at the bar, and those helming it. Thanks to this, we have bartenders performing. We have added LED lights that play up on big-ticket events like cricket matches. This helps us change the ambience regularly," she says.

Juhu's sea-facing Estella restaurant 

Architect take
Island bars in large spaces are a mainstay not just in the city, but internationally too. Suresh Mistry, co-founder of city-based architecture firm SM Studio, which has worked on the Andheri outlet of Agent Jack's, has spotted some of the finest island bars across Hong Kong and Guangzhou. "It is ideal for service as it enables the waiters to attend to every table in lesser time. Island bars also break the monotony of a large space."

The team at architect Sameep Padora's sP+a that designed Lower Parel's Theory and Juhu's Estella, was clear about Keswani's brief. They say, "Since the island bar is the cynosure of the space, the design had to be technically spot on.
Done right, it is the best way to communicate the positioning of the property."

Going by the footfall at the Juhu hotspot, it might just be the new cool island to check into.

Thali Sweet accompanied by kadio bodio

For Bandra resident Sophia Netto, the month of September meant eight days of festivities, courtesy the iconic Bandra Fair that the suburb hosts annually. Held in four lanes that dot Bandra's Mount Mary Basilica neighbourhood, it celebrates the birthday month of Mother Mary. "You could spend an entire day at the fair. There would be pageants like September King and Queen, games and cane product stalls that everyone would throng to, and all-night long jam sessions by Catholic bands at Mount Carmel's September Garden with an entry fee of `1. We would binge on potato chops, candy floss and kadio bodio, a deep-fried sweet stick of refined flour dipped in sugar. Even black chana would be heaped at stalls," recollects 54-year-old Netto, who offers black chana and kadio bodio as complimentary treats at BKC's SodaBottleOpenerWala as part of the outlet's ongoing festival, Bandra Feast, which recreates the fair experience.

East Indian Pork Sorpotel

In collaboration with chef de cuisine Danesh Vakshoor, Netto has created a special menu comprising East Indian and Goan delicacies. The menu features Mutton Potato Chops (Rs 195), where fried-till-golden breadcrumb crusted mashed potato shell is stuffed with minced meat, and Vegetarian or Chicken Lonvas (Rs 295), cooked with the famous East Indian bottle masala and thick coconut milk. It also stars East Indian Pork Sorpotel (Rs 295) and East Indian Vindaloo (Rs 295) where the pork is marinated overnight and slow-cooked. "Most homes in Bandra would be open to guests till midnight, who would arrive from different parts of the city and beyond to seek blessings at the basilica. I remember my mother making kilos of sorpotel and vindaloo. I've used her traditional recipes for the menu," she adds. End the meal with Thali Sweet (Rs 175), a festival speciality made with coconut semolina and eggs.

Sophia Netto

The restaurant has also been dressed up with ribbons and balloons that are a throwback to the helium balloons, which were a common sight at the fair. The line-up also includes a retro jam session with in-house DJ Farhan and saxophonist Amar Sukhi on Thursday night, and breakfast housie on Sunday. The idea, says Netto, is to revive the fair's charm. "Unfortunately, it has now turned into an extension of the Hill Road hawking zone," she rues.

Bavarian Bouquet and Tropical Froth 

A trend we have seen in menus across the city is the use of the term, progressive global cuisine. This covers everything under the sun and allows chefs to serve dosas or dimsums. Many falter in delivering the best of each cuisine, while others manage to gain footfall.

Andheri's newest brewery (in place of The Pump Room, which was a brewery too), Barrel & Co has a menu that falls in this category. The interiors are industrial with a surprise mix of S&M, in the form of a large cage and mannequins decked in chains.

Beer-infused Chicken Supreme with Dukkah Spice 

Butter Chicken and Jeera Rice (as part of lunch thalis) and Spaghetti Lamb Bolognese fight for attention. We hope for the best and order their craft beers first. We have a weakness for wheat beers and the Belgian Wit ('190 for 330 ml) has the perfect grainy flavour with a hint of citrus. The Hopfenwiezen and Irish Red Ale (both '190) need a little more finesse for a smooth transition of the many flavours they pack. The most unique offering is the Bavarian Bouquet ('210), a floral, sweet beer that we guess will polarise opinions. It's unlike anything other breweries serve and the aroma reminds us of an exotic spa — we don't mind it one bit and call for another mug. One thing that all the beers lack is a good head. To further experiment with the Belgian Wit, we pick Tropical Froth ('300), a cocktail that makes the most of the citrusy nature of the craft beer when mixed with orange, apple and pineapple.

Zucchini Stuffed with Cottage Cheese and Cream Melange; (bottom) The industrial interiors. Pics/ Dhara Vora Sabhnani

Happy with the beers, we try a Mini Dosa Taco with Chicken Sukka ('290), Beer-infused Chicken Supreme with Dukkah Spice ('275) and Zucchini Stuffed with Cottage Cheese and Cream Melange ('275). We are not disappointed. The chicken skewers are tender and the coating of dukkah adds a woody taste to the meat. The stuffed zucchini, comes on a bed of chutney-like paste and the rolls are stuffed with delicate paneer. The chicken stuffing of the dosa tacos starts with a sweet taste and then hits spicy notes, balancing the flavours. The dosa is a tad soggy.

Like us, other tables seem to be having a good time, too. Several tables are filled on the Monday evening when we visit. With good food, aptly priced craft beers (just two options for bottled beers is a downer) and a well-designed entrance to property that will soon become an Insta favourite, Barrel & Co calls for a revisit.

Telugu actress Samantha Akkineni turned a year older on April 28, 2020, and she was seen celebrating her special day with near and dear ones. Samantha's husband Naga Chaitanya hosted a sweet little party for the birthday girl at their home.

Chaitanya also baked a cake for his wife, and the actress shared a time-lapse video on social media. She wrote, "baking my birthday cake." Take a look at the series of photos and video shared by the birthday girl on Instagram.

 

 

 

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Family ❤ï¸Â .... (no points for guessing what I am praying for )

A post shared by Samantha Akkineni (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) onApr 27, 2020 at 12:29pm PDT

For the uninitiated, the 33-year-old actress has a solid fan-following not only in India but globally too and has given us two very memorable films- 24 and Eega, both brimming with imaginative ideas and smashing entertainment. Samantha has come a long way and carved her own niche in Indian Cinema. Her work in the Telugu and Tamil industry continues to resonate with audiences and critics alike.

Speaking of her professional journey, some of her most remembered works as an artist are 24, Oh Baby, U-Turn, Super Deluxe, and Rangasthalam.

On the other hand, talking about her personal life, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya tied the knot in both grand South Indian and Christian ceremony in October 2017.

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Veteran actress Shabana Azmi recently met with an unfortunate accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and was rushed to MGM Hospital, Panvel. She was later shifted to the Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai for further treatment.  Her husband, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar, was also there in the vehicle but escaped unhurt.

In an interview with Film Companion Akhtar revealed what were his first thoughts when he saw his wife at the car crash scene. He said, "Who could think we would have such a calamity. The accident that Shabana went through was really deadly. We were in the other car, she was sleeping in the car behind us and when this accident occurred and we went back, the first thought was "Is she alive?' Because the whole car was crushed, had become a heap of junk. Somehow we took her out, she was unconscious with blood all over her face and it was only from the nose. There were no wounds but the whole body has taken such a whiplash, that it will take a little time to be totally normal."

The 69-year-old actor suffered head injuries when her car met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on January 18. She was later shifted to the Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai for further treatment. Shabana Azmi was heading towards Pune from Mumbai. The accident took place near Kharagpur on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The car in which Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar were present was hit by a truck on the expressway. While she was in the hospital, Bollywood celebrities like Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Shibani Dandekar, Anil Kapoor, Tabu, Satish Kaushik paid a visit to the actress at the hospital.

She was discharged from the hospital after a few days. "Thank you all for your prayers and wishes for my recovery. I'm back home now," Azmi wrote on Twitter alongside a post-recovery photo of herself.

Thank you all for your prayers and wishes for my https://t.co/A21IxD7Usd back home now Thank you #Tina Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani hospital for the sterling care provided by the doctors team and the nursing staff. Im indebted and grateful🙏 pic.twitter.com/6a1PWsGKnn

— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) February 1, 2020

"Thank you #Tina Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani hospital for the sterling care provided by the doctors team and the nursing staff. Im indebted and grateful," she added.

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Amitabh Bachchan, celebrating 37 years of his film 'Mahaan,' shared his version of a bikini picture- from the sets of the 1983 film. In an Instagram post put out late on Tuesday, the legendary actor revealed he was advised to post bikini photos to clock the "big numbers" on the photo-sharing app.

And the 77-year-old thought of an alternative option- posting a throwback photo in which he is wearing a striped vest and shorts, or in his own words, "Bhara hua kini".

 

 

 

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Somebody was explaining to me why I was not getting the big numbers on Insta , unlike all the other youngGEN .. he said “ because you can’t put up a pic in a bikini “ !!! And suddenly this one popped up .. not quite a bikini , it’s more ‘bhara hua kini’ .. from my film MAHAAN .. triple role .. and today 37 th year of its release !! 🎥😳😜

A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) onApr 28, 2020 at 10:51am PDT

"Somebody was explaining to me why I was not getting the big numbers on Insta , unlike all the other youngGEN .. he said " because you can't put up a pic in a bikini " !!! And suddenly this one popped up .. not quite a bikini , it's more 'bhara hua kini' .. from my film MAHAAN .. triple role .. and today 37 th year of its release !!," the actor wrote in the post, with the photo from the making of the film.

Within hours of being shared, the post has received more than six lakh likes and a flood of comments. "Nice legs !!! Just kidding !! Stay blessed sir !!!," wrote a fan.

Amitabh Bachchan played a triple role in star-studded 'Mahaan' along with Waheeda Rehman, Parveen Babi, Zeenat Aman, Ashok Kumar, Amjad Khan, Kader Khan, Aruna Irani and Shakti Kapoor. One of the film's songs - 'Pyaar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli' - was among the chartbusters and remains foot-tapping even today.

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Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor passed away yesterday morning, April 30, 2020, at a hospital in Mumbai. The original chocolate hero of Bollywood had been battling cancer since 2018 and breathed his last at the age of 67. Countless hearts were broken due to his passing, and innumerable tributes came in for the actor from his friends and fans across the world.

Niece Kareena Kapoor Khan, too, remembered her Chintu uncle in a sweet way. She shared a clip from husband Saif Ali Khan's film, Hum Tum, in which Rishi Kapoor can be seen singing the classic Hindi song, 'Main Shayar Toh Nahi', from his own movie Bobby, which was his first leading role.

Check out the video below:

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kareena Kapoor Khan (@kareenakapoorkhan) onApr 30, 2020 at 8:34am PDT

Isn't this the perfect way to remember Rishi Kapoor? In all his glory and classic lover boy sweetness!

Bebo had shared a throwback photo, too, which features her papa, veteran actor Randhir Kapoor, with brother Rishi. It's the kind of throwback photo that will surely bring a smile to your face!

 

 

 

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The best boys I know... Papa and Chintu uncle ❤️❤️

A post shared by Kareena Kapoor Khan (@kareenakapoorkhan) onApr 30, 2020 at 2:02am PDT

Rishi Kapoor passed away a day after we lost another cinematic gem, Irrfan Khan, on April 29. Irrfan, too, was battling cancer for two years and breathed his last at age 53 in Mumbai. 

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Amid rumours that he was unwell and hospitalised, Naseeruddin Shah has reached out to his fans and thanked them for their concern. Rubbishing the reports of hospitalisation, Shah took to Facebook to reassure everyone about his health.

He wrote, "I thank all those enquiring after my health and reassure them I am fine," he said. "I'm at home and observing the lockdown. Please don't believe any rumours," he added.

The actor's younger son Vivaan Shah also dismissed rumours about his father's health. "He's alright. These are just rumours," Vivaan told PTI. Reports about Shah's health started surfacing on social media as the industry was coming to terms with the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

All well everyone! Baba's just fine. All the rumours about his health are fake. He's keeping well 🙏Praying for Irfan Bhai and Chintu ji. Missing them a lot. Deepest condolences to their families. Our hearts go out to all of them. It's a devastating loss for all of us 😔🙏

— Vivaan Shah (@TheVivaanShah) April 30, 2020

Rishi Kapoor, aged 67, breathed his last on Thursday in a Mumbai hospital after a two-year-long battle with leukaemia, while Irrfan, 53, passed away on Wednesday due to neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer.

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Siddhant Chaturvedi is an actor, who apart from his acting, is also known to be an adept writer. He uses simple words to convey meaningful messages and impactful messages which is what makes his poetry so relatable. He usually shares his poetry on his social media in the captions of his pictorial posts.

The actor shared an intriguing teaser video titled 'Dhup' on his social media. The teaser had an engrossing animation and calming music which provides a beautiful perception about sunlight in it. The full verse of Dhup will be out now!

 

 

 

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Dhoop - In search of hope.â Â€â Â€â Â€â Â€â Â€| 𝐒 | #MyNotes brought to life. Visuals by @patranimacchi

A post shared by Siddhant Chaturvedi (@siddhantchaturvedi) onMay 2, 2020 at 12:09am PDT

The actor shared the teaser on his social media for his fans. Siddhant Chaturvedi's talents really know no bonds and his word really shine brightly in this teaser! Siddhant made his debut in 2019 as Mc Sher in Gully Boy and has been on a roll ever since.

On the work front, Siddhant will next be seen in Bunty Aur Babli 2 followed by Shakun Batra’s next.

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Actress Adah Sharma says she is picky when it comes to signing films and that she tries to pick something that is different from what she has done before. "Yes, I am picky when it comes to choosing films. I try to be part of films that I would want to watch. I also try to pick different roles from what I have done. I started with '1920'. I am very fortunate, the actresses in our industry for years don't get a chance to do what I got to do in my debut," Adah told IANS.

Adah made her Bollywood debut 2008 with the film "1920". She was later seen in films like "Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke", the "Commando" franchise, "Bypass Road" and "Phhir". She also worked in the southern film industry. Adah says she likes to surprise the audience.

"I try with each film to do something different because the audience also waits to see 'what different is Adah Sharma going to do' and if I do the same then they are like 'anyone can do that!'. So nowadays even if it is a short film like I just did 'Tindey', 'moh' or a music video... I try to pick something that is different from what I have done and others have done as well," she said.

She will next be seen in "Man To Man".

The film revolves around actor Naveen Kasturia's character falling in love with and marrying Sharma's character, only to realise she was biologically a man who became a woman after surgery.

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Pakistani television personality Aamir Liaquat Husain has apologised for making extremely insensitive remarks about the deaths of iconic Bollywood stars Sridevi and Irrfan Khan. Recently, in a segment of his show Jeewey Pakistan, he joked about the deaths, which shocked the film world globally, with actor Adnan Siddiqui, who has worked with Sridevi and Irrfan Khan.

Liaquat Husain started off by saying that Adnan saved the lives of Rani Mukerji and Bipasha Basu. A confused Adnan asked how. To which, Liaquat Husain disgracefully joked about how the actors Adnan worked with outside of Pakistan, died.

"You worked in Mom and Sridevi died, you worked with Irrfan Khan as well and he passed away. You were offered roles in Mardaani 2 and Jism 2 but you declined, so the actors of that movie owe their life to you," he added.

Adnan looked uncomfortable with the remarks and even told Liaquat Husain that it was not something to joke about. Adnan worked with Irrfan in 2007's A Mighty Heart, which also featured Angelina Jolie.

Liaquat Husain faced a lot of flak for remarks. On Saturday, he released a video, apologising for his insensitive comments.

"Sometimes you lose control over your words. That happens in a live show. At the time it didn't seem like a big issue but when I later thought about I realised that was not appropriate. So I'm really sorry. Keeping humanity in mind, this should not have been said. I made a mistake," he said in the video. Adnan also released a statement about his reaction to the incident on Twitter. Have a look at the video:

 

 

 

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My statement regarding yesterday’s program... hope we all can move on with this now... May Allah bless us in this holy month Aameen #aamirliaquat #humanity #respect

A post shared by Aamir Liaquat Hussain (@iamaamirliaquat) onMay 1, 2020 at 6:46pm PDT

In a statement, he said: "So I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling right now or what to say. But this needs to go out. I was invited on the live chat show Jeewey Pakistan yesterday when this unfortunate incident happened. The anchor Amir Liaquat Sahab joked about something extremely sensitive. Not only were they both close to me but also as a human it was wrong on so many levels. I cannot even call it hitting below the belt."

"It was an extremely callous act to joke about the deceased. This is in very bad taste, not only does it show him and me but also the entire country in bad light. I want to apologise to the families of Sridevi Sahiba and lrrfan Khan Sahab, their loved ones and fans. If you see my body language I was extremely uncomfortable with what he said but I didn't want to stoop to that level. I regret being on the show. I've learnt my lesson and I promise I will not tolerate such an act in future. I was hoping this bit wouldn't become public but unfortunately it has. I'm sorry. Thank you," he said, concluding the statement with folded hands emoji.

Sridevi died in 2018. Irrfan breathed his last on April 29 at the age of 54. He was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection earlier this week. However, he succumbed to his ailment.

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Real estate developer Vikas and Gayatri Oberoi's son, Vihaan, 13, is an aspiring artist, studying at the Oberoi International School. His passion for art led him to pursue acrylic painting and drawing. The self-taught youngster's tools vary from painting knives to cooking pan lids. He particularly enjoys working on multiple canvas making diptychs and triptychs as he loves the disconnection and continuity of such form of paintings.

Says Vihaan, "Knowing the situation we are in and learning about the hardships people are facing due to the lockdown, I have used my time at home to compile my work for an online exhibition on https://colorwaysbyvihaan.org. I was always keen on holding an exhibition and it's fulfilling to know that it will help people in need."

Crimson

Proceeds from the sale will be collected by the Oberoi Foundation and donated to the NGO Teach for India's COVID-19 Relief and Learning Fund. "I hope my art brings as much positivity to people during this time, as creating it did for me," adds Vihaan.

Historique

His parents have always encouraged Vihaan's love for art. They say, "We are thrilled that he is able to contribute to a cause when it is most needed. We will continue to guide and encourage his creative mind and generosity. We are very thankful for all the appreciation he has received."

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Filmmaker Karan Johar has quashed reports that the team of his upcoming production Brahmastra has to take pay cuts amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. He has requested everyone to wait for an official announcement rather than jump to conclusions based on rumours.

Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor star in the ambitious Ayan Mukerji-directed superhero adventure, which has been billed as the first part in a trilogy. The film also stars Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy.

There were reports stating that as a measure to keep the film commercially viable, the entire cast has volunteered pay cuts. Rumours suggested that Ranbir, Alia and Ayan came forward for a pay cut.

Johar took to Twitter to set the record straight. "My hugest request to my media friends not to reach any assumptions on our fraternity films...these are challenging times for the business and false news only makes the situation worse," the filmmaker tweeted.

"Please wait for official news on any account!! This is a humble request," he added.

Brahmastra: Part One is set to release in five languages -- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, and is produced by Dharma Productions in association with Fox Star Studios.

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Posting a picture of himself, megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday quoted lyrics of Lata Mangeshkar's famous song 'Subah hoti hai' to describe how time is flying during lockdown.

Bachchan who is quite active on social media took to Instagram and posted the picture. In the picture, he is seen wearing a black coloured sherwani paired with black glasses.

The picture also featured a couple of murals of the superstar in the background. "Subah hoti hai, shaam hoti hai; Umr yunhi tamaam hoti hai!" he wrote in the caption.

The song sung by Lata was originally penned by Munshi Amirullah Tasleem according to Rekhta foundation. Bachchan is one of the most socially active veteran actors of the Bollywood industry. He keeps treating his fans with his pictures and his thoughts on contemporary issues on social media.

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Malang co-stars Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani and Kunal Kemmu on Wednesday had a virtual reunion. Taking to Instagram, Disha posted a screenshot from her video call with the Malang boys. "Positive vibes only... quarantine reunion with my favourite boys," she captioned the image.

 

 

 

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Positive vibes only🌸 quarantine reunion with my favourite boys❤ï¸ÂðŸŒ¸

A post shared by disha patani (paatni) (@dishapatani) onMay 6, 2020 at 3:52am PDT

In the screen grab, Anil Kapoor is seen flaunting biceps. Disha looks beautiful as she shows off her lustrous hair. Kunal is all smiles while Aditya sports a beard. Reacting to his pose, Anil Kapoor quipped: "Ye haath mujhe dede Thakur."

Directed by Mohit Suri, Malang is a romantic action thriller film that released in February.

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After the government's protocol of social distancing and self-quarantine, many people have found ways to keep themselves busy into the four walls. Speaking of which, Janhvi Kapoor was seen cooking and trying her hand into various dishes. But guess who turns the judge of her experimentation cooking classes? It's none other than baby sister Khushi Kapoor.

Last time, the actress baked a carrot cake, and once again, it was fed to Khushi Kapoor first. Janhvi shared the review video as her Instagram story, and Khushi liked the cake baked by her sister. Take a look at the video here.

 

 

 

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A post shared by Manav Manglani (@manav.manglani) onApr 21, 2020 at 10:21am PDT

Now, once again, Janhvi Kapoor wore the chef's cap and made 'banana toffee,' and shared a video as her story. As soon as Khushi Kapoor tried the dish, she couldn't help it but subtly reject what Janhvi cooked for her. We can't stop laughing her Khushi's various expressions in one bite of 'banana toffee.'

Speaking of Khushi Kapoor, the star kid was in New York for her further studies, but papa Boney Kapoor brought her back as soon as the coronavirus outbreak started to take over the world slowly. Now, the duo has been living with papa at their Mumbai residence.

On the work front, Janhvi Kapoor will be next seen in Gunjan Saxena, where the actress is portraying a real-life person for the first time in her career. Based on Gunjan Saxena, who is one of the first female pilots to fly in combat, Janhvi plays an important role in rescuing injured soldiers during the Kargil War in 1999 and was awarded the gallantry Shaurya Vir Award for displaying courage during the war.

Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film also stars Vineet Kumar Singh, Angad Bedi and Manav Vij in pivotal roles. She will also be seen in Karan Johar's multi-starrer Takht alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Bednekar and Anil Kapoor, and Roohi Afza opposite Rajkummar Rao.

Apart from Gunjan Saxena and Takht, Janhvi Kapoor will be seen in Dostana 2 and Roohi Afzana.

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She has belted out hit after hit lately, including "Dilbar", "Garmi", "Sunny Sunny", "Aankh maarey" and "Badri ki dulhania". Neha Kakkar, who is one of most successful singers in the industry, says she had never thought she would reach where she has today.

"It feels great. I always tell people that I am still living in a dream. How can this happen? A small town girl from Rishikesh went to Delhi and then Bombay. It (the journey) has been good. Never thought about where I have reached today," Neha told IANS.

Neha, who was born in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, doesn't want to stop here. "It feels amazing and I think even now I have to make it even bigger in life," added Neha, who rose to prominence with the song "Second hand jawani" in the 2012 film "Cocktail".

Long before cracking Bollywood, Neha in her childhood days used to sing bhajans at religious events. "I started singing at the age four and till 16 I was only doing bhajan sandhyas," the singer, who has been crowned as the remix queen in the industry, told IANS.

From religious songs to party numbers, how did the shift happen? "If you see my Jagran footage, I used to sort of party there, too. I would dance and sing bhajan's as a little kid and people used to… paagal ho jaate the (go crazy). I have been partying since then," said Neha, whose siblings Sonu and Tony Kakkar are in the industry, too.

On the work front, Neha recently featured in a song with rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh titled "Moscow suka". The number is a mix of Punjabi and Russian languages. The track currently has garnered a whopping 26,304,948 views since its release in April.

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The lockdown was supposed to end tomorrow on April 14, but given the extent to which the Coronavirus pandemic has spread, it seems things will take time to get back to normal. Not only that, but the cases are also only rising and this has led to buildings being sealed. One of the recent ones being the residency of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actress Sonalika Joshi.

Speaking to SpotBoyE, she confirmed that it had indeed happened. She said the building has been sealed since March 27. She resides in the Kandivli area of Mumbai. Another actor from the same show whose building was sealed is Tanmay Vekaria, who stays in the same area as Joshi. Tanmoy also confirmed this news to the same portal.

We wish that everyone stays safe and the pandemic is eradicated soon!

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On Monday evening, the hashtag #FraudArhaanKhan started trending on Twitter following claims by netizens that actor and "Bigg Boss 13" contestant Arhaan Khan has taken Rs 15 lakh from his former girlfriend Rashami Desai's account, and is allegedly threatening her. Arhaan withdrew the money when Rashami was still inside the "Bigg Boss" house, it has been claimed.

The accusations have mostly been levelled on Twitter by netizens who claim to Rashami's fans. They also shared screenshots of bank statements of monetary transactions from an account with the name Shivani Ajay Kumar Desai.

A user tweeted in Hindi claiming Arhaan Khan has taken Rs 15 Lakh from the actress' account in 15 days.

Another user alleged that Arhaan has even taken money for subscribing to a popular OTT platform.

A Fanclub of Rashami Desai tweeted: "We need justice for @TheRashamiDesai. She has earned money with lot of her hardwork and #FraudArhaanKhan misused her money. What a shame to society."

Calling Arhaan a "gold digger," Rashamians, as Rashami's fans like to call themselves claimed in a tweet: "This is a call to all fandoms - any and everyone who is sane enough to see the wrong in this situation- keep aside your Bigg boss grudges for once and please help us expose and shame a gold digger. #FraudArhaanKhan."

However, there has been no substantial basis to any such claim on the part of fans.

During her stay in the "Bigg Boss" house in the latest season, Rashami Desai was heartbroken after learning about Arhaan Khan's child and former wife. The two eventually parted ways. It seems a bigger shock is waiting for the "Naagin 4" actress if allegations made by her fans come true!

While this season of the reality show is already over long back, Rashami Desai continues to remain a favourite with her fans.

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Archana Puran Singh has always believed in laughing out loud and living life to the fullest. We all have seen that in Comedy Circus and The Kapil Sharma Show, and the same amount of mirth and liveliness is to be found in her Instagram posts. But in the latest one, it's her hubby Parmeet Sethi who steals the show.

We all get to see Singh capturing Sethi and her mother and Sethi, who seems to be in a jovial mood, begins taking a dig at her and their 30-year old marriage. He calls her a 'defective maal' and also adds 'Iska koi refund nahin hai.' To make matters worse for her and funnier for us, her mother too joins Sethi to pull her leg.

Have a look at the first video right here where we can see all three of them:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

. Both saasu ma and jawai ji have some fun... at my expense! 😁 Mom has declared me to be the "video waala" ! 🤦‍♀ï¸ÂðŸ˜‚ #lockdown2020 #quarantinelife #madhislandlife

A post shared by Archana Puran Singh (@archanapuransingh) onMay 2, 2020 at 6:47am PDT

And in the second video, the actress gives us a glimpse of their Sunday conversations. She says- "Sunday. No workout. Fresh mint flavoured nimbu paani. Nature. Mom. Parmeet. Bhagyashri. Entertainment. Nok jhok. Happy." (sic)

Have a look right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Sunday. No workout. Fresh mint flavoured nimbu paani. Nature. Mom. Parmeet. Bhagyashri. Entertainment. Nok jhonk. Happy. @iamparmeetsethi #madhislandlife #quarantinelife #lockdown2020 #bhagyashrirocks

A post shared by Archana Puran Singh (@archanapuransingh) onMay 3, 2020 at 7:38am PDT

Hope just like us, you also had a laugh!

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Telly actor Saumya Tandon is part of a campaign to distribute reusable masks and face shields to frontline workers on the streets. The Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai actor was spotted in Andheri distributing the kits to vegetable vendors and police personnel.

Main bhi artist

Aishwarya Sakhuja, who has taken up sketching during the lockdown, is enjoying the process. "I never thought I would be good at it, but I've surprised myself. I still have a long way to go but my friends have been loving my sketches," she adds.

Mamma mia

Jag Jaanani Maa Vaishno Devi actor Madirakshi Mundle is bonding with her mother during the lockdown. She has special plans for Mother's Day. "I plan to cook her favourite meal and refurbish an old saree to a suit with embroidery work on it."

The web game

Mere Sai actor Tushar Dalvi is set to make his digital debut on Netflix with Anurag Kashyap's Choked. He says, "Working with Anurag Kashyap is a dream come true. His films don't underplay issues."

Slambook: Parull Chaudhry

One superpower you wish to possess?
The power of illusions.

One thing you won't share?
My mom's laddoos.

Your guilty pleasure movie?
Dumb and Dumber (1994).

One thing you are guilty of?
Of unknowingly hurting my parents.

Your worst project?
Being part of an episode of supernatural show in which I played a 300-year-old witch. Wearing prosthetics was painful.

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The lockdown period brought filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari in front of the camera, and his nine-and-a-half-year old daughter Amaarisa got a chance to be a cinematographer on a scratch film for Kaun Banega Crorepati.

The new campaign has the show's host Amitabh Bachchan inviting KBC aspirants. It was shot from the confines of home, in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tiwari remotely directed the registration promo.

But before Big B's final video, there was a scratch film too. Talking about it, Tiwari told IANS: "This the first time I have done something like this. I've never shot a film sitting so far away from my star but yeah it was an interesting experience for me."

"The thing is when we were writing this campaign, we knew the restrictions under which this film would be shot so we didn't get really ambitious with the execution. We kept it very simple."

Explaining the campaign's execution process, the "Dangal" director shared: "For the execution bit, I had various chats with Mr. Bachchan, and to make it easier for him because he was only going to shoot the film at his house, I made a scratch film featuring me. My daughter (worked) as the cinematographer. I edited that film and I sent it across to him so that he could get a good idea about how I was looking at the film. And then Mr Bachchan did the rest. In fact, he did more. He was kind enough to send optional takes also...in case, I needed to look at alternatives. After that we did the post-production work, everybody sitting at their own homes."

This year, the campaign is all about: "Har cheez ko break lag sakta hai, sapno ko nahi (everything can take a break, but not dreams).

"Whenever we get down to working on KBC campaigns, what we normally do is we tap into the mindset of the people of the country at that point of time and given the situation we all are in, we chose to explore the possibility of having a campaign which was based around the idea of we being in the situation and how you tie it up to KBC as a game show," he said.

"We all know KBC is not just a game show. It's a means for people's dreams to be fulfilled. That's when we got this idea."

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

We've all heard of Bollywood celebrities using the unlimited free time during the coronavirus lockdown to work out and stay fit. But it's not just celebrities who have been keeping fit! In a post shared by Karan Wahi on Instagram, he shared how proud he is of his mum, Veena, who, at the age of 62, lost 18 kg in four months. Amazing, isn't it?

Wahi shared a before and after picture of his mother and wrote, "So proud of my MOM @wahi.veena
Thank you for listening to me and taking care of yourself before u took care of the world. My Mom is 62 and a hypothyroid. But I am glad I inspired her to do this for her. 18 kgs in 4 months..."

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

So proud of my MOM @wahi.veena Thank you for listening to me and taking care of yourself before u took care of the world. My Mom is 62 and a hypothyroid But Iam glad I inspired her to do this for her 18 kgs in 4 months Lockdown ke bawajoood my MUMMA is the strongest... Thank you @tahirakochar for making this happen .. Age is just a number ,hence proved... INSPIRE People NOt Influence... #iloveyou Mom

A post shared by Karan Wahi ðŸÂÂ’ÂÂœ (@karanwahi) onMay 5, 2020 at 6:31am PDT

Along with the photos, Karan Wahi also shared a video of himself talking about his mother's fitness journey. The actor also gave a shout-out to his mum's lifestyle coach who helped her achieve her goal.

Well, we sure are inspired by Karan's mother's weight loss and fitness journey!

On the work front, Karan Wahi can be seen in the role of a DJ, who also doubles up as a police informer, in the web series, Hundred.

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Sumeet Vyas and Ekta Kaul are all set to embrace parenthood. The duo is enjoying this time as much as they can and keep sharing their happy moments with their fans on their social media handles. Owing to the countrywide lockdown imposed due to coronavirus, the couple recently hosted a virtual godbharai.

Ekta took to her Instagram page to share pictures of her godbharai. She looked lovely in a printed, maroon maxi dress, while Sumeet kept it casual with cargo shorts and a quirky, navy blue t-shirt. Ekta was seen flaunting her baby bump. She captioned the picture as "Just like that." Take a look at the picture here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Just like that!

A post shared by Ekta Rajinder Kaul (@ektakaul11) onMay 8, 2020 at 11:25am PDT

Ekta also took to Facebook to share a glimpse from her godbharai. Here's what she shared:

Last month, Ekta had shared the news of her pregnancy with an adorable and witty caption! In the picture, we could see Sumeet planting a kiss on Ekta's cheeks.

 

 

 

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Proudly announcing our new project together. 👶🏻👶🏻 Introducing Jr. KaulVyas (soon) Created, Directed and Produced by US.... @sumeetvyas and I 🙏🏻🙏🏻

A post shared by Ekta Rajinder Kaul (@ektakaul11) onApr 4, 2020 at 10:19pm PDT

Sumeet Vyas and Ekta Kaul tied the knot in a traditional ceremony in Jammu on September 18, 2018. Sumeet was earlier married to theatre actor Shivani Tanksale. They divorced in 2017.

Talking about his love story, Sumeet Vyas in an earlier interview had said, "We actually met six years ago when we were shooting for a pilot of a television show which never took off. I met her again on a show I was hosting, where she was a contestant. We kept in touch. I discovered the art of conversation with her. We don't discuss common people we know or criticise projects that aren't good enough. She became the home I could come back to and disconnect from work. I love that we both are desi. It was a moment of sheer astonishment when she said she likes me too. That's love, it requires no logic and no reason."

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Illustration/ Uday Mohite

I had an affair with someone while dating my girlfriend a few years ago. She didn't know about it and I put it behind me. I didn't cheat on her ever again. We got married eventually, a year ago, and I recently ran into the woman I had an affair with. She says she still has feelings for me and has threatened to tell my wife about our affair. If my wife finds out, she will assume that I have always been unfaithful, even though I haven't. I don't know what to do. I can't threaten this woman because she says she will file a police complaint. I'm desperate. I don't want my marriage to end like this because of a stupid mistake that I made years ago.
First of all, threatening anyone is a ridiculous thing to do, so don't even think about it. Secondly, as you yourself admit, this was a stupid mistake that was made years ago. If you want your relationship with your wife to get stronger, you will simply have to fess up. If she trusts you enough to have married you, she shouldn't have any problem believing that you haven't been unfaithful since then. Cheating on someone is always wrong, so try to be as honest about your reasons as possible. There may be some hostility at first, which is natural, but it is up to you to convince your wife, because that is the only way she will be able to ignore this other woman's threats and move on. Also, it is only by moving on as a stronger couple that you will both allow this other woman some sense of closure and compel her to move on too.

My girlfriend has a massive crush on a Bollywood actor, which makes me jealous for no reason. How do I deal with this?
The chances of her hooking up with this Bollywood actor are as remote as your chances of hooking up with him. She's with you. Focus on that.

While the film industry has come to a halt, the producers, actors and directors are interacting with each other through video calls and getting things in order for the future. Multiple films are being planned at the moment and one of them is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ambitious period musical drama, Baiju Bawra. Bollywood Hungama has exclusively learnt that the celebrated director is in talks with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone for the official remake of the 1952 film.

“Ranbir and Deepika make a pair to reckon with on screen and Bhansali wants to create magic on screen with the two actors. Talks are on, however neither of the two have signed the dotted lines yet,” revealed a source close to the development, adding further that the idea is to move away from the conventional pairing for Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. “He will work with Ranveer again in the future, but he doesn’t want to repeat the pairing of the real life couple for the fourth consecutive time.”

Ranbir made his acting debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Saawariya, which was a colossal disappointment, while Deepika has worked with the director in Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmavaat. Ranbir and Deepika, on the other hand, have worked together in two successful films – Bachna Ae Haseeno and Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani, while their third collaboration, Tamasha, was a flop. “These are all early talks, which started before the lockdown, but with the entire calendar of actors going for a toss, it would be interesting to see how things shape up. Though Ranbir and Deepika will make for a formidable pair in a Bhansali film,” the source added.

Bhansali is currently working from home on the post production of his next directorial, Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt, which went on the floors in November last year. A lot of shoot still remains, and it will be resumed once the national scenario gets back to normal.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt to reunite for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Baiju Bawra?

The two of the biggest superstars of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, also have an electrifying chemistry on screen. This was evident in Rakesh Roshan’s 1995 blockbuster Karan Arjun. Even in the romance saga Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, where Salman had a supporting part, the film went on another level whenever they came forward. Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam today is memorable chiefly because it starred both of them together. It’s been 18 years since they both came together, though they were sweet enough to do special appearances in each other’s films (Om Shanti Om, Tubelight and Zero). But to see them together in a two-hero flick is something that fans have been waiting for keenly. Their excitement did arise when reports emerged that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was planning to cast Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in his next flick. But sadly, the project failed to take off.

After SRK’s Zero tanked, the star took a long time in deciding his next and finally, if reports are believed, he has given his nod to blockbuster filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. However, as per a write-up by Rajeev Masand in Open magazine, Rajkumar Hirani had initially approached SRK with a different film. The article states that Rajkumar had the concept of a two-hero film in his mind. For this project, he wanted to cast both Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. However, when he met SRK, he insisted that he’s keen on doing a solo-starrer. Hence, Rajkumar Hirani went back to the drawing board and he finally came up with an idea which was fine to both the filmmaker and the actor.

Rajkumar Hirani is writing the script with his regular colleague, Abhijat Joshi. As it is his style, Rajkumar Hirani is taking his own sweet time to write and fine-tune the script. He’s been sharing all the drafts with the superstar, who also provides his feedback and input to Rajkumar. However, an official announcement regarding this film will happen only when a fully satisfied Rajkumar Hirani locks the script. This is being done at the behest of the filmmaker and Shah Rukh Khan reportedly has no qualms in delaying the announcement.

Recently, SRK had got his fans excited when in a reply to a fan question on Twitter, he had hinted that his film with Rajkumar Hirani is indeed on.

Wow both are awesome and I have met them...but Raju apna sa lagta hai...nahi? https://t.co/EuSsrTHtx5

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 20, 2020

Also Read: Rajkumar Hirani and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to have an insightful conversation on the Heart To Heart Show

With the lockdown in place, the theatre business has been shut completely. This has led to a substantial increase in content consumption through digital streaming platforms. Several web series makers are speeding up post-production work to release their shows during the lockdown. 

While releasing shows during lockdown sounds good, director Ali Abbas Zafar is in no hurry to finish the post-production of his show. Ali Abbas Zafar is currently working on a political drama tentatively titled Dilli. Talking to a tabloid he said that he would rather revel in the satisfaction of a series well made than join the rat race. He said that people have been asking them on social media to release the show, but they do not wish to rush the process.  The series was supposed to release in the last quarter of 2020 and they intend on sticking to it. 

The Saif Ali Khan starrer is currently in the post-production stage. Zafar said that if the show was ready they might have released it now. He said that when it comes to developing an offering for the global audience the post-production is a long drawn process. He said that once the project is delivered, it has to be dubbed in nine languages and the post-production takes three to four months. 

The show will be aired on Amazon Prime videos and the makers have already started working on season 2. Amazon Prime green signalled the second season after watching the rushes of season 1. 

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Ali Abbas Zafar confirms teaming up with Katrina Kaif for superhero flick

Smriti Irani's social media posts are easily the best with throwback grams, pictures of her family and memes!

This time she got us all nostalgic with her Instagram stories. She shared a couple of pictures which only the 20th century kids would relate to.

The first picture that she shared was of a white-shoe which was being polished. If you look carefully, you will realise that these are the same shoes that were worn by everyone during school days. She captioned the picture, "Kisko yaad hai? (Who remembers?)"

The second picture was of a landline phone with a round dial and the receiver kept down. In those days, it was the only way to stop the incoming calls. The text on this picture read, "How we blocked people in the 1980s."

The third image was of a cassette player with the cassette reel stuck in it. The caption of this picture read, "The youth of today will never know our struggle."

The last picture of the story showed a handle which was used to roll the car windows down before it was replaced with a button.

Feeling nostalgic yet?

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The Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) on Monday petitioned information & broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar for a relief and rehabilitation package for the broadcasting sector.

The industry sought regulatory moratorium for 18 months, phased resumption of production activities, extension of moratorium period for GST payment and for the government to mandate digital payments of subscription and advertising dues to broadcasters. It also said the Centre should issue an advisory to DPOs to release payments of subscription fees up to February-end.

Seeking a stimulus package from the government so that broadcasters can get back on track, IBF president N P Singh, said, "IBF has submitted a standard operating procedure (SOP) on prevention/ safety measures for organised, safe and sustainable restart of content production, media operations, transmission and general office operations in the TV broadcast sector to PMO, Niti Aayog and I&B ministry. The SOP will help the sector to move quickly towards normalcy and we certainly hope that the government would consider it favourably."

Apart from emphasising that the government should urgently settle all outstanding dues to the broadcasting industry, IBF also demanded waiver of processing fee and temporary live uplinking fee for live sporting events for a period of one year from the resumption of normal business activities, increase in time period of 1-2 years for operationalising new channels that are granted permission, and the suspension of requirement of performance bank guarantees for channels that are to be launched, for one year.

IBF also asked the government to defer payments due to Prasar Bharati for free dish carriage until July 2020 and said all pending refunds exceeding Rs 5 lakh should be urgently processed. It added that the government should extend the existing stay on demand for income tax for the next six months, and not seek any new hearings.

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