Malavika’s Mumbaistan: ‘Apro Freddie’ and ‘Apro Queen’

Parsi fans (and there are many) will tell you about the community’s alleged infatuation with all things English. Starting at the top of the list with ‘Apro Queen’,

Parsi fans (and there are many) will tell you about the community’s alleged infatuation with all things English. Starting at the top of the list with ‘Apro Queen’, a good humoured reference to its supposed proprietary feelings for the British Royal Family. Mirroring this has been India’s feelings for another kind of Queen, albeit a Parsi one, called Freddie Mercury aka Farrokh Balsara, the front man of the celebrated seventies British rock band, Queen. Though the singer with the flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range had been born in Tanzania to Indian-Parsi parents, he’d spent 10 formative years in India’s Panchgani and though, he himself had tried to play his Indian antecedents down, few of his countrymen can resist the chance to appropriate him as ‘Apro Freddie’. Hence, Tuesday night’s special preview of the much-awaited ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on Mercury’s life, releasing this week, hosted by Congress leader and rock musician Milind Deora, had an extra significance. The audience featured many well-known city musicians and music lovers who emerged enraptured by the saga of the star-crossed singer, who had succumbed to AIDS-related complications on November 24, 1991. As for the film, without being a spoiler and giving away too much, let us just say that Egyptian American star Rami Malek, who plays Mercury, is certain to be nominated for an Oscar, and his front teeth, for a separate one.

Rami Malek (in red) as Freddie Mercury in a still from Bohemian Rhapsody. (AP)

The Master and the Foodie

Sachin Tendulkar (right) with Chef Ting Yen.

Those close to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar swear that along with his batting prowess, the master-blaster is an avid and evolved foodie, and that his foray into owning restaurants was the culmination of a lifelong passion for good food. No surprise then that the highly sought-after Tendulkars often take time off from their busy schedules, to check out the food scene in Mumbai, and that Tuesday night saw the icon along with a small group of old friends dining at the St Regis’ Yuuka, where Chef Ting Yen from the Oishii Boston was cooking for an ongoing pop-up. True to his reputation, Tendulkar, who is said to be especially knowledgeable about Japanese cuisine, eschewed the tried-and-tested dishes on the menu, instead relishing dishes such as The Hamachi with gold leaf, the Mizuna Salad, and the pan-seared scallops with maitake mushrooms. What’s more, we’re informed he’s not the visiting chef’s only celebrity fan: “Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suzanne Khan love his food and have dined here in the past,” says a source.

Seasons in the Sun

(From left) Sunil Sethi, Dilip Bobb, Mandira Sherie Purie, Chander Uday Singh and Shonali ‘Shirley’ Joshua.

In the turbulent year of 1975-76, with Mrs Gandhi’s Emergency in full swing, two young, idealistic Delhi-based siblings were about to create media history. In retrospect, it is not clear if it was the Columbia School of Journalism-trained Madhu Trehan or her LSE-educated accountant brother Aroon Purie, who spear-headed the idea of launching a world-class Time magazine-inspired news magazine to India. What is clear is that from the musty shelves of a pedantic and moribund media, had risen an exotic and exciting magazine, which went on to rewrite media rules. “This week, Chander Uday Singh, now a Supreme Court advocate, who had served as the magazine’s first Bombay correspondent while studying law, reunited the magazine’s initial gang of the five editorial team, at dinner in his Delhi apartment. There was Mandira Sherie Purie , sister of Aroon and Madhu, who’d doubled as resident photographer, her bestie Shonali ‘Shirley’ Joshua along with Dilip Bobb and Sunil Sethi, who reported, rewrote copies, proof-read and pasted up the pages in the early days,” says a source, mentioning names that became household ones for the magazine’s many readers. Other than partners and spouses, the only other guest at the gathering was retired Justice Vikramjit Sen of the Supreme Court, who, we are informed, used to drop in to the editorial office to buy the overstretched and enthusiastic staffers an occasional and much-needed coffee. As expected, the gathering, 40 years later, was full of laughter, jokes, teasing and some colourful tales.

Five Stars for Gaggan

Gaggan Anand (right) at the Michelin star gala event in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The Sühring twins

Yesterday’s glittering gala held in Bangkok, for the release of the city’s second Michelin guide, saw two Indian Chefs come up on top: Gaggan Anand, the Calcutta-born internationally-celebrated chef, who has been named the world’s fifth best and Asia’s best for the past four years, retained his two Michelin star ranking, (though, many believed that this year he deserved to have been awarded three stars – the highest accolade handed out by the omnipotent guide). And, though no restaurant managed the coveted three stars, Anand was undoubtedly the overall winner this year, as two other restaurants in his burgeoning restaurant empire, came up on top. The first was Sühring, the German restaurant started by identical twin chefs Mathias and Thomas Sühring, who had recently cooked in Mumbai and Delhi, were elevated from their previous year’s one-star ranking, joining their mentor and champion Anand, with two stars of their own. The second was Gaa, a restaurant co-founded by Gaggan and helmed by Mumbai-born chef, Garima Arora that was also awarded a Michelin star, making Arora the first Indian female chef to receive the accolade across the world. The new rankings take Gaggan’s growing empire to a total of five Michelin stars. And what’s next for the chef who announced his shocking decision to shut shop in 2020 and move to Japan? We hear he has turned his focus to his next big project to be called ‘Wet’, an avant garde wine bar in partnership with his long-serving Serbian sommelier Vladimir, which is said to soon open its doors adjoining his eponymous eatery in Bangkok, and where the rambunctious and rock music-loving Anand will be in charge of the sound on weekends.