Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Deepika’s Crowning Glory

Any Mumbaiite will tell you that a true blue Mumbai experience as intrinsic to the city as eating bhel puri on Chowpatty or watching a film shoot, is affording yourself

Any Mumbaiite will tell you that a true blue Mumbai experience as intrinsic to the city as eating bhel puri on Chowpatty or watching a film shoot, is affording yourself the experience of a Mumbai beauty salon. High-end and gilt-lined, full of gum chewin’ stylists covered in tattoos and body piercing, or low-end and hole-in-the-wall, the type where the water to wash hair is fetched out of a bucket, it does not matter. The Mumbai beauty salon experience is unique across the board and one of the best ways to get an inside view of the much-vaunted ‘spirit of Mumbai’. To start with, it will feature efficient and helpful, but far from obsequious staff, savvy enough to know when you want to be left alone or when you need a shoulder to cry on in an atmosphere mercifully devoid of religious or caste bias, and little tolerance for anything, but getting the job done. Indeed, from fancy five star salons and French franchises to fly-by-night barbershops, balanced on the edge of thoroughfares, the Mumbai salon is an institution in its own right. And at the very high end of this spectrum is undoubtedly Clarabelle’s, the eponymous boutique salon run by long-time Bandra resident Clarabelle Saldanha, from her cozy home in a leafy bylane of the suburb. This is where the leading ladies of Bollywood, the yummy mummies of Khar and Bandra and the willowy models of Fashion Week go when they need to enhance their crowning glories being by the owner stylist herself, aided by a bevvy of her efficient helpers. And this is where Deepika Padukone spent this Wednesday evening, away from the intrusive attention of paps and cams and fans (they are always outside the salon), while Saldanha worked her magic on her famous locks to get Bollywood’s highest-paying female lead ready for her imminent Cannes Red Carpet appearance. “Actually, this was the first time after her marriage that we did a new colour for her hair,” said Saldanha, when we spoke yesterday in between attending to the roots of yet another of her celeb clients. “For her wedding ceremonies, Deepika had wanted to go a bit darker as she would be wearing traditional Indian outfits, but now that she is going to walk the red carpet, we could go a bit lighter. Also, since her recent shoot in Dehli had required her hair to look particularly unglamorous and dull for the role she was playing, I had to revive its natural shine and gloss with products. ” What Saldanha eventually did was give the star a “long layered cut”, which brought back its bounce and then enhanced it with a series of ingeniously placed highlights and low lights in gold and caramel. “Of course, we couldn’t make any drastic changes as she’s in continuity,” said the consummate professional, with three decade of experience under her belt. And, as for the waiting lensmen outside, a fixture in every star’s life, Saldanha says that this time they got lucky. “Deepika’s driver had parked in another lane, so no one got to know of her visit this time,” she said.

Deepika Padukone

Captain Maval

Parth Pawar

We had bumped into Parth Pawar, the 29-year-old scion of the Pawar political clan and son of former deputy chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, during a wedding in Mumbai a couple of months ago. The SoBo school and British college-educated political debutante, who divides his time between Pune and Mumbai, had excitedly told us of his entry into the country’s political arena with his nomination as NCP’s candidate from Maharashtra’s politically-significant Maval district, where he is contesting against the incumbent Shiv Sena candidate. But, contrary to expectations of an easy entry, things had been quite challenging for Parth since then, and he had been the target of a smear campaign by his adversaries, with even the Prime Minister singling him out for attack, in one of his recent speeches. But according to sources, Parth, who is said to have received his political grooming at the knee of one of the country’s most astute political stalwarts – his granduncle Sharad Pawar –the Maratha strongman, is said to be to be taking his trial by fire in his stride. “He’d virtually dropped out of sight amongst his friends and social circle for the past few months to concentrate on his campaign,” says a source. “At one time, he’d been a regular football player, even being captain of The Campion School football team, but even that has stopped. In fact, given his newfound gravitas, his friends have got a new nickname for him,” said the source, adding, “They have begun to call him Captain Maval in reference to the fictional superhero character from the popular Avengers franchise.”

Tweet Talk
“Australia too is in the midst of its federal elections. Voting is compulsory and those who do not vote are fined $20. In case of non-payment, you can be taken to court and liable to be jailed. Seeing the apathy of rich and middle class voters in urban cities of India this is worth a try.”
- Tweeted by Amitabh Kant, CEO Niti Aayog

When Anand Met Ed

(From left) Gaggan Anand and Ed Sheeran with friends.

“Gaggan, [this is the] best meal of my life so far. What a rock star, thank you for an amazing night,” shared the Emmy award-winning singer and songwriter, Ed Sheeran, with his 28 million followers on social media, last night. The British music sensation, who is currently in Bangkok, had popped over for a ‘progressive Indian’ meal at Gaggan Anand’s celebrated eponymous two Michelin starred restaurant on Wednesday night. “He had booked in advance and was seated in the 14-seater gastronomy lab inside the restaurant, along with his friends. He stayed on for drinks at Gaggan’s neighboring wine bar ‘Wet’, where he wrote a special message on the wall for the team. The Gaggan and him discussed music and took photos together,” informed a source. Later, an exuberant Gaggan had shared some facts about his superstar guest, “Super foodie. Eats very fast. Gets emotional with the food. His wife and friends are amazing energy. Most humble celebrity I came across in my life! I will always get a free ticket to his concert”. Having had our own Ed Sheeran moment last year, when we shared a bathroom queue at director Farah Khan’s house in Mumbai (a story for another time), we empathise with Gaggan, knowing the effect the peerlessly humble musician exudes. Perhaps, a jam session with Gaggan next time?