Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 10, 2017)

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s visit to Mumbai became a talking point last year, with Shah Rukh Khan throwing a bash in his honour at his Bandra address. The romance between technology and Tinsel Town continues this year too. While Cook had to give India a miss this time, senior Apple executives are flying down to the city today. A party with Bollywood stars is on the itinerary. The guest list for the do, which will be held at a suburban five-star tonight, includes Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Sidharth Malhotra, Ayan Mukerji, Aditya Roy Kapur and Vishesh Bhatt amongst others. We hear Deepika Padukone was expected to attend, but had to cancel as she is travelling.

A source reveals, “The party is an extension of Tim’s visit last year. Vishesh is well-acquainted with some officials from the tech giant since they had met at the Harvard Business Conclave a couple of years ago. So, he was asked to curate the guest list.”

Another source informs that instead of the usual suspects of a Bollywood party, this guest list is specially designed to focus on young talent from the industry. “The guest list doesn’t have regular A-listers but young superstars, musicians as well as independent filmmakers. India is a prime market for the phone major, which is why they decided to meet young achievers to understand the psyche of their young target audience. The gathering will include creative as well as business people from the industry.”

Will the videshi guests get a taste of desi khatirdari? “With so many young guns in the house, bonhomie is a given. They will bring the house down!”