The holiday season is upon us, and we spotted actor Aahana Kumra on the bustling streets of Bandra, Mumbai, during the Christmas week. Kumra, dressed in a white outfit, looked like a child in a candy store, exhilarated by the decor. “I haven’t done this in years,” Kumra says, revealing that her enthusiasm for the festival stems from her Christian nanny. “She was like my mother. She used to take me to church every Sunday. Also, when I moved to Mumbai, I was surrounded by the Catholic community. So, I’ve always been excited about Christmas,” explains the Call My Agent: Bollywood actor.

As she skimmed through the dense Christmas trees, Kumra confessed that she is “very big on decorating” her house. “Everyone in my house is aware that the Christmas tree is put up several weeks before the holiday. My decorations are on point, and I’m obsessed with them,” she grins and adds that even though she hasn’t gone street shopping in a while, she isn’t new to it: “I have always loved street shopping, and I knew exactly how much a T-shirt would cost in which shop. My mother’s office was in Colaba. So, after college, my friends and I would go to Colaba to shop. For Christmas, we all knew we had to go to Bandra.”

Conservation comes to a halt when the actor, like the rest of us, is exasperated when a shopkeeper tells her the exorbitant price of a Christmas tree. “Okay, I’m bad at bargaining [now],” she laughs.

Kumra goes on to reveal that she will spend Christmas in Kashmir this year. But she doesn’t forget to mention that, despite her absence, she has decorated her house and tree for the holidays, and will be relishing a gorgeous plum cake. She shares, “I am spending Christmas in Gulmarg in the middle of the snow, skiing. Also, for the first time in my life, I spent Christmas Eve on a houseboat.”

When asked what she wants for Christmas, Kumra declares: “A sports film! I’ve been manifesting it for a long time, and I hope it transpires this year. Something that will change the game for me.”

Sanjay Vasawa, former manager of Edward Talkies on Kalbadevi Road, opening to the public in 1914. Pic/Suresh Karkera

For a city left with few standalone theatres, what did Rex, Defence and Edward exemplify in the epic age of single screen cinemas?
Meher Marfatia (MID-DAY; September 6, 2020)

Stardust memories flooded my mailbox in a swoosh. Responses to last month's column from readers recalling their carefree, happiest hours spent in single screen cinema halls. One of them missed mention of Rex, Defence and Edward. That piece, on BEST bus journeys of younger years, was limited to movie houses I frequented when studying at St Xavier's College.

Winning a lottery and then a horse race started it all for the Bhavnagris, who built Rex opposite Ballard Pier's Red Gate in the late 1930s. They got to Rex interestingly, after laying roots in Derby, their first cinema. Jehangirji Bhavnagri and his son Shapoorji worked at an Indore mill. Buying a lottery ticket with the British boss, they struck luck. When the Brit refused them their portion of prize money, they sought legal opinion and the court ruled favourably.

Jehangirji looked for an investment opportunity. There was also the sum he had won betting on Windsor Lad, belonging to the Maharaja of Rajpipla. The Irish thoroughbred galloped to victory at the 1934 Epsom Derby and Jehangirji erected his theatre named Derby the next year, informs a Bhavnagri grandson—"Derby's earnings were ploughed into Rex. The third theatre, Diana at Tardeo, displayed the Roman huntress-moon goddess above our stage."

Proximity to the docks made Rex popular with a swell of patrons. An old booking clerk remembers curtains flap outside the auditorium and "Welcome" blaze across the main red velvet curtain within, riding up silkily for the film to unreel. Besides Hindi hits, towering among such mega releases of the 1960s-'70s as Satan Never Sleeps, The Night Of The Generals and The Omen, was The Guns Of Navarone. The 1961 war epic was the smash success from flicks at Rex based on Alistair Maclean novels like Where Eagles Dare and Fear is the Key.

Hallowed spot that Rex was for spaghetti westerns, House Full placards covered posters of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, loved for the game-changing twangs of eternally hummable theme tracks Ennio Morricone scored. United Artists' campaign strategy, branding anti-hero Clint Eastwood "the man with no name", saw him dubbed Joe in A Fistful Of Dollars, Manco in For A Few Dollars More and Blondie in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

This was where urban chronicler Deepak Rao devoured spy sagas like That Man In Istanbul, formulaic of the Cold War era, less glamorously aping the James Bond franchise. "A fingerpost to history, Rex rose under the hold of Empire," he explains. "Iranis called their cafes Lord Irwin and Brabourne. Cinemas were Imperial, Regal, Edward and Empire."

Rex played a poignant part introducing an iconic Churchgate restaurant. How Tulun Chen came to possess the Cantonese-Hunan eatery is an account warmer than the soup bowls that steamed up his tables. Crossing the road after a show of The Guns Of Navarone, 18-year-old Chen and his friends saw an elderly Chinese man knocked by a cab and admitted him to hospital. The accident victim recovered, revealing he was K C Tham from Hong Kong. They somehow pooled money for his Rs 3,000 sea passage back. About to sail, the gent pressed a piece of paper into Chen's hand, whispering, "This is yours." Gratitude for the so-very-Bombay kindness of strangers, it was the sale deed for Kamling, which opened in 1939-40.

Unfamiliar for many, south-tipping Defence near R C Church was commissioned as a storehouse for bulk items and unserviceable spent cartridges in 1924, the year landmark Colaba Garrison structures like Gun House came up. Troops were entertained under its sloping roof from 1932. The recreational hub, screening films from 1955 on a heritage "wall", was christened Defence in 1974. Functioning decrepitly for a few decades, the refurbished avatar, Sena, since 2004, has surround sound and air conditioning.

In "Remembering Anthony Gonsalves", for Seminar magazine, Naresh Fernandes links the Garrison to Chic Chocolate, from years the musician led an 11-piece jazz band at the Taj and lived in 1960s Colaba. "The flat had one bedroom but two pianos. Chic couldn't resist another after he found Mehboob Studio was selling it for just Rs 200… Chic's career was tragically short. He died aged 51. His casket was borne by Bombay's foremost musicians, including accordion player Goody Seervai and drummer Francis Vaz, his Selmer trumpet placed across his chest. Shortly after, Chetan Anand's Aakhri Khat hit the screen. The bluesy song 'Rut Jawaan Jawaan' featured several close-ups of the Louis Armstrong of India playing trumpet solos from the bandstand. Whenever they missed his presence, Chic's children would go to Garrison theatre to commune with their father."

As a boy, journalist Farrokh Jijina was dispatched by his mother, on the Thursday holiday from school, to reserve advance seats for Saturday evening shows at Defence. Weekends welcomed civilians to this space, otherwise for the Forces. "A tongue lashing awaited if I returned bringing tickets wet with rain or limp from any moisture. What to do, they were stamped on the flimsiest barfi pink paper," he laughs, remembering being besotted by Rajesh Khanna in Aan Milo Sajna. "We'd troop down from Cusrow Baug to settle in cushioned chairs of the last three rows, far from bug-infested wood front benches. Visits weren't complete without samosas ingested with the ink of notebook pages wrapping them, their spice washed away by sweet sips of mud coloured Vimto."

Helpful retired officers volunteer information spanning the hall's Garrison-Defence-Sena journey. "Predominantly for Hindi film re-runs, Defence had the odd English or regional language Sunday morning show," says Commander Mohan Narayan, former curator of the Maritime History Society. "With digital prints, the Forces enjoy newest releases in a daily show and two on Sundays."

Post-terror strikes, the sensitive area remains off-bounds to the public, though civilians within military cantonment confines and Navy Nagar are permitted. In days of a general undisciplined public, wild whistles and whoops would greet certain songs. People apparently pelted piles of coins at the screen, flashing the qawwali from Dharma, "Raaz ki baat keh doo toh", focused on Pran and Bindu. "In exquisite irony, an Army-owned cinema has always been used more by the Navy," observes one veteran commodore. "Paying cheap rates, we can without regret walk out of lousy films or go in as soon again to repeatedly catch sequences."

Evolving a little like Defence, albeit much grander in scale and decor, Edward Talkies graces Kalbadevi Road from 1914. Initially, the 19th-century venue regaled expats and soldiers with live performances. An orchestral pit still exists in this, probably our oldest surviving single screen gem, as do massive entrance-ways which brought through backdrop props. Bordered by fading but beautiful white and pastel blue trimmings, the triple-tier interior accommodates 509 viewers in Orchestra, Dress Circle and First Class.

"I watched American cowboy movies as a kid in the time of my grand-uncle Bejan Bharucha," says Fred Poonawala, running Edward today with his cousins. Bharucha reached Bombay from Bharuch, Gujarat, for a job as a barman at the Taj, before establishing himself as an exhibitor and theatre proprietor. When he passed on, his German wife Gertrude took over, keeping ticket prices the lowest possible for poor neighbourhood labourers and beggars to afford moments of escape.

Around Edward's formal unveiling as World War I broke, cinemas began to be described as "picture palaces". Delighting film buffs with its grandeur, the theatre was as well a platform for advocacy where citizens gathered for speeches like Gandhiji's addressing grain merchants during the Independence movement. Edward flit from Flash Gordon-type action series to B-grade Bolly to avant-garde European festival circuit fare. Factoring the vicinity's once hefty Catholic and Parsi population, it periodically aired Cecil B de Mille blockbusters like The King of Kings, a stellar attraction for these communities.

"What cinema history was created in 1975," declares Sanjay Vasawa, ex-manager of the cinema. He means the months of Jai Santoshi Maa's benign reign, catapulting to superstardom a heavily adorned, and adored, Anita Guha cast in the title role. Her idolisation, verging on worship, asserted how the belief system of mill workers and cinemagoers shaped the city's social fabric. Clapping, crying, chorusing bhajans, they contributed a dream year for Edward. Fans folded hands in tearful prayer to strains of "Main toh arti utaru re Santoshi Mata ki".

Vasawa adds, "We had throngs of thousands press against the ticket window. Treating the cinema as their local temple, Gujarati and Maharashtrian housewives removed their chappals at the threshold. Carrying puja thalis, they entered barefoot, lit diyas when Devi Ma appeared on screen, and even distributed chana and jaggery to other devotees." Like his father Hiralal for long years before him, Sanjay considers the Edward green room his home.

Crumbling, yet struggling to muster dignity amid redevelopment, these cinemas lent character to the horribly homogenised scape that sullies our gullies. We miss feeling alive from the flutter of sitting in squeaky seats with robust audiences in packed halls. Anticipating thrills heralded by static crackle from the projection room after ruched curtains swung softly up. Hoping a greater number of reels counted on the censor certificate ensured a longer watch. For sure, the words "The End" have never rung sadder than now.

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay. You can reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.mehermarfatia.com


View of the interior of Edward where an orchestral music pit beneath the stage is still intact


Windsor Lad, owned by the Maharaja of Rajpipla, winning the Epsom Derby in 1934. Having bet on this horse, the Bhavnagris named their first cinema Derby, before building Rex


An advertisement dated November 27, 1964 announces Rex shows for The Robe, "The Most Memorable Motion Picture of This Decade". Pic courtesy/Deepak Rao


Jehangirji Bhavnagri and his son Shapoorji; (right) Jehangirji opened Rex at Ballard Estate in the 1930s


Garrison Cinema sketch by Dilshad Faroodi. Reproduced from Ah! Colaba (1989)


Renamed Defence, the theatre got its present name, Sena, in 2004. Pic courtesy/Swords and Shield, published by HQ M and G Are


Chic Chocolate trumpeting "Rut jawaan jawaan" in Akhri Khat. After he died, the musician's family in Colaba often watched this song sequence in the film's run at Garrison

Christopher Nolan outside the Breach Candy high-rise on the last day of the film’s Mumbai schedule

Here are the inside details of the schedule that was wrapped up on Friday. The director and his crew left for Los Angeles yesterday
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; September 22, 2019)

After shooting in Mumbai for the past week, Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan left the city at 3 am yesterday, while his crew followed him later in the day. The director landed in Mumbai on September 13 with actors Robert Pattinson, John David Washington and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Dunkirk, Interstellar) for the shoot of his upcoming spy action-thriller, Tenet. The shoot kicked off at the Gateway of India on September 16 where Dimple Kapadia also joined the cast. The Oscar nominee was easily spotted at various locations in South Mumbai. Other than India, the film is also being shot in the US, Estonia, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom and Denmark.

BT got a glimpse into the shoot at various locations in Mumbai. Without much hullabaloo, Nolan carried out an elaborate shoot on the land, sea and air.

TEN-DAY SHOOT WRAPPED UP IN FIVE DAYS
The director made the most of his time in the city. We were told, “Nolan doesn’t indulge in small talk, and even if he does, it isn’t an irrelevant conversation.” Even the Mumbai rains couldn’t deter him. Our source shared, “He’s driven, but unpredictable. He was to shoot only at Colaba Causeway and Yacht Club on the first day, but he finished those scenes quickly and got into a launch at the Gateway of India to start shooting the scenes that were scheduled for the next day. Within two days, he moved to the fourth location — a highrise at Breach Candy. There, the crew shot from 4 pm to 6 am and finished the stunt scenes in just three days.”

Nolan finished his ten-day schedule just in five days. The Mumbai shoot ended on Friday at 7 pm. Nolan and crew, who were stationed on the footpath opposite the high-rise with the cameras, clapped and congratulated each other after calling it a wrap. Nolan was the first to leave for the SOBO hotel, and his team followed soon after. They left for Los Angeles yesterday, ahead of their schedule.

THE SHOOT STARTED WITH A TRADITIONAL PUJA
The crew of the film was seen performing a puja in the wee hours of Monday morning at the Colaba Causeway market before the shoot began.

CHAND RESTAURANT SET WAS JUST A BACK-UP; NOLAN STUCK TO REAL LOCATIONS
No scenes were shot at the restaurant set that was erected for the film on the sea-facing promenade near the Gateway of India. Named Chand restaurant, we hear, the set was strictly a backup in case it became impossible for Nolan to shoot in the sea as planned. The filmmaker stuck to real locations in South Mumbai instead — Colaba Causeway market, Cafe Mondegar, Yacht Club, Gateway Of India, a Breach Candy highrise, an adjacent smaller building and terraces of both these buildings. A local vegetable and fast food market were created in these buildings’ compound for the shoot.

THE RAJASTHAN CONNECTION
At Nolan’s Gateway shoot, men and women dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire were seen. Apparently, Nolan loved the outfits, which he recalled seeing during his Jodhpur shoot at Mehrangarh Fort for The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Apparently, he asked his team to fly more people straight from Rajasthan to Mumbai, instead of dressing up locals in that outfit to retain authenticity.

HELICOPTER, STUNTS AND TRAFFIC
On Friday (the last day of the shoot) a helicopter was used to film some aerial shots of the Breach Candy high-rise and the sea. Shooting on the main road of an area like Breach Candy was well-managed despite high traffic and rains. Vehicles were allowed to pass, but they weren’t allowed to halt near the shoot.

NO STARRY BEHAVIOUR
The actors or the director didn’t have a coterie of staff accompanying them. They moved around freely and the security wasn’t overwhelming either. They predominantly ensured the shooting area wasn’t overcrowded by puzzled onlookers as they could disrupt the shoot by accidentally walking into the frame. The crew also took very few breaks to ensure that the work was completed at a fast pace.

FANS HAVE A FIELD DAY
Be it at the Colaba Market or Breach Candy, a few lucky fans got pictures clicked with the ace director. However, photography was strictly prohibited on the sets. Fans were happy to meet him and later tell us their tales. Lydia Almeida, who got her young son Ian, to watch the shoot, said, “We live in the building that they were shooting the film in. My son’s exams were on, but he insisted he wanted to meet Nolan. We got to meet him!”

Another diehard fan Mehul, who met him at Colaba said, “The universe conspired and I got to meet him. I was crossing the signal towards Regal when I spotted him. I was nervous, but I told him that I had come to Jodhpur in 2011 to meet him, but couldn’t. It finally happened in Mumbai!”


The filmmaker with fans Lydia Almeida and her son Ian after his Mumbai shoot was wrapped up

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; September 20, 2019)

Hollywood director Christopher Nolan has been shooting his upcoming spy actionthriller Tenet in Mumbai for the last four days. Known to relentlessly pursue what he wants, the filmmaker seems to be in no mood to waste a single minute. Going by the speed at which Nolan has been shooting, it looks like the team will complete their Mumbai schedule on Friday, and will fly out on Saturday to Los Angeles, ahead of their planned stay.

The action has now shifted from the Gateway of India and Colaba Causeway to Kemps Corner. While the team previously shot in the daytime and the outdoors, the current portion is being filmed in the late hours of the day at a high-rise in South Mumbai. We hear, an apartment has been booked for the shoot, along with the terrace and an adjacent building. Lead actors, Robert Pattinson and John David Washington (son of Denzel Washington), shot for the stunt scenes. Dimple Kapadia was also present here.

While it was hard to tell if it was Robert Pattinson or his stunt double, people witnessed a scene that had two men jumping off the 20-storey building. Those present at the location pointed out that Pattinson’s blonde look (hair colour) in the film is just like Nolan’s in real life, and that makes the two look similar. Following this action sequence, we hear, the team is contemplating shooting a bigger stunt scene. Watch this space for more.

Ismat Tahseen (BOMBAY TIMES; September 18, 2019)

It was a rainy second day for the Robert Pattinson thriller Tenet, that has begun shooting in Mumbai. The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, saw the cast and crew shooting in and around the Gateway of India on Monday. Pattinson was spotted at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club while Nolan emerged from a five-star hotel in the vicinity and headed to the boats for a sequence.

And yesterday, the shooting shifted to the area behind the five-star hotel at Gateway of India. Technical vans and the film’s crew started setting up their shoot since early hours and by 11 am, a large part of the Mere Weather Road, adjacent to the hotel, was barricaded to traffic and public. Nolan himself arrived at the shoot by noon and an hour later, a few bikes were brought into the shooting location, probably to be used in an action sequence.

A while later, actress Dimple Kapadia came onto the set. She was dressed in a sari and wore her hair in a salt-and-pepper look. She was accompanied by Tenet co-actor John David Washington.

Nolan and his team are in Mumbai for a 10-day shooting schedule.

Ismat Tahseen and Prathamesh Bandekar (BOMBAY TIMES; September 17, 2019)

It was manic movie Monday for Hollywood fans in Mumbai. Hollywood’s Twilight star and the latest Batman of the series, Robert Pattinson, along with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who are in Mumbai to shoot their film Tenet, were spotted with their cast and crew at the iconic Gateway of India. They commenced shooting for their thriller early on Monday morning at the location. While the director and his cast are staying at a plush five-star hotel right opposite the Gateway of India, the crew headed to three key locations, a stone’s throw away from the hotel. A restaurant set (named Chaand) has been erected on the sea-facing promenade for some of the shots. Bombay Times exclusively captured them in between the shots on day one of the shoot.


PATTINSON DONS A SUIT, WHILE REST OF THE CAST IS DRESSED IN DESI OUTFITS
The shoot apparently started around 4 am near the Regal circle where they shot at Mumbai’s landmark eatery, Cafe Mondegar. The shops lined along the street leading up to the café were open at the wee hours of the morning to facilitate the shoot. Says a resident of a nearby building, “The shops in that lane opened very early today. Maybe, they wanted to depict a daytime scene. We saw the cast enter the café and leave only after 7.30 am. Later in the morning, the cast was spotted at the nearby Royal Bombay Yacht Club where Pattinson had a suited look — he was seen dressed in a pale suit with a green tie and glares. The rest of the cast wore Nehru jackets, topis and some women were seen in Indian outfits.”

The next leg of the shoot took place at the Gateway of India, where the cast boarded the boat stationed there. Nolan emerged from the hotel around 2 pm and headed to the boat with his bodyguards. Actress Dimple Kapadia, who is also part of the cast, arrived in her car soon and headed to the boat. The light drizzle didn’t seem to deter the shoot and it went on as planned.

Nolan and his team arrived in Mumbai on Friday morning from Denmark. They are said to be here for a 15-day schedule.




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Director kicks off Mumbai schedule of film with Robert Pattinson, Dimple Kapadia and John David Washington
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2019)

Mirror was the first to report (September 14) that Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan arrived in Mumbai on Friday to shoot for his next directorial, Tenet, which is set in the world of international espionage. Soon after, pictures of his lead actors—John David Washington and Twilight star Robert Pattinson—arriving in the Maximum City started doing the rounds.

After three days of prep, the auteur started shooting at around 4 am on Monday at a popular cafe in Colaba with Robert dressed in a crumpled linen suit and dark sunglasses. The team would later move on to a spot near an art-deco theatre in the area. At 9 am, they landed up at a nearby club to film another sequence featuring a restaurant. “A lot of the scenes were shot on the streets. Nolan is shooting on 65 mm Imax cameras and even filmed near the Gateway of India. The makeshift hotel created outside a SoBo five-star will also be used in a day or two. Three luxury SUVs were parked in the vicinity for the actors to use for commute,” adds a source present at the location.

Later in the day, Dimple Kapadia, who plays a 60-plus lady with a crucial role in the narrative, joined the cast, after which they hopped on to a ferry for another sequence. “She was joined by John, while Robert wasn’t a part of that sequence. Some Indian junior artists dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire also accompanied the team. They returned around 6.30 pm,” adds the source.

Nolan is aiming to wrap up the film’s Mumbai schedule, which was preceded by several others, including one in Estonia, by the end of this week. “The team will shoot an important sequence, in which one of the actors is expected to jump from a skyrise, in the coming days. From Wednesday, they will be shooting mostly at night with a lot of the portions set inside a room that has been rented for the film,” the source informs.

Tenet also features Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Clemence Poesy.
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A fly-on-the-wall account from deep inside the sets of Christopher Nolan's film Tenet starring Dimple Kapadia outside Mumbai's iconic Cafe Mondegar in Colaba
Mohar Basu, Sonil Dedhia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2019)

For the suburban Bollywoodwallahs, a trip to Colaba is not a particularly pleasing thought. It's even less appealing when the shoot's call time is 5.30 am. A stylist friend asked if it was an Akshay Kumar shoot since he is infamous for his early morning call time. "Even better," was the reply as we dashed off to see filmmaker Christopher Nolan open his week-long schedule of Tenet in the city.

Sitting a lane away from Regal cinema, iconic pub Café Mondegar, known as much for its vintage jukebox as for its Bifteck Alla Supremo, was cordoned off with barricades, and manned by brawny security guards. A few inquiries among the 150-odd extras present at the scene helped us learn that the film's on-ground production unit had been in discussion with the café for permissions to function out of their premises. A well-informed hanger-on told us the café's partners were clear they wouldn't mess with their weekend loyalist crowd, and in turn, the unit agreed to shoot in the wee hours of Monday.

The action started at 4.30 am when an over 80-member crew, donning fluorescent green jackets, started setting up the market area of Colaba Causeway characterised by cheek-by-jowl stalls, to make it look like another busy morning in SoBo. The heavy equipment was stationed in the adjacent lane where kebab king Bademiya operates from. The place was packed with young extras fighting their sleep, waiting for filming to begin. Prodded on how much they were being paid for the day, one of them said, "Jitna har film ka milta hai!"

It was 7 am when Nolan appeared on the set. Dressed in a crisp blue shirt, wearing a marigold garland and a teeka, the filmmaker sipped on his coffee while giving instructions to cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and leading man John David Washington. The shot was fairly simple — Washington attends a call on his basic cellphone, dumps the box of the phone in a bin as he walks through the market place.

Two days in the city and it was evident that he had picked up a few words of Hindi as Nolan hollered, "Chaliye," marking the commencement of shoot. Well-known for being a rare filmmaker to still shoot on celluloid, he called for five takes of the scene before being satisfied. Amusingly, during one of the shots, an old lady unknowingly walked into the frame. The director graciously offered her directions before bidding her goodbye with a "Namaste".

As the hours passed by, the lane outside got incredibly busy. Passersby curiously looked on, wondering which Khan is shooting amidst such razzmatazz. A police van showed up at the venue to ensure the shoot was not disrupted. One of the crew members told us, "The producers have procured permissions from the BMC. They will be shooting with Robert Pattinson at the Gateway Of India later during the day. Over the next few days, they will also be filming at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club and the backlane leading up to CST." The unit's next stop, we were told, is Ahmedabad.

The shoot was over by 8.30 am, three hours before the said closing time. We asked the hawker selling earrings if he had been paid anything for being part of the shoot; he smiled, suggesting that he was not. We returned with a pair of big hoops and memories of what a Nolan film set is all about. If we are lucky, we might just make to the film's final cut.


Christopher Nolan and John David Washington shoot a scene outside Cafe Mondegar in the wee hours of Monday. Pic/ Suresh Karkera




Colaba Causeway comes alive at 4.30 am for the shoot

As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 2, 2019)

It started with a photoshoot...
Styling Ranveer Singh is as fun as it looks. Our association began when I styled him for a Filmfare shoot by Rohan Sreshtha, around all his haunts in Bandra. The three of us enjoyed it so much that I went on to style him for a personal shoot. From these interactions, Ranveer felt we had similar tastes when it came to fashion and signed me on as his stylist. It is the absolute dream job. Not only does he have a great sense of fashion but also the physique and swagger to make everything he wears look good. Every job comes with a responsibility and I take complete ownership of what Ranveer wears. I never let him walk out wearing something I am not a 100 per cent sure of. At the same time, he never wears something just because I want him to.

From the street to the star
Ranveer has never given me a brief. I pick clothes according to the event that he is attending. When he arrives, I offer him a choice of four-five different looks and explain the thought behind them. He chooses the one that he likes the most and we go with that. Every look has a statement piece that stands out and irrespective of which one he goes with, that invariably gets noticed.

I pick stuff which I feel most closely resembles his style, often from the streets on a whim. I remember these crazy pyjamas that I bought from Colaba Causeway, he made them all the rage. The next day, I was getting calls asking me which designer he had been wearing. On my travels, I hoard rings, bracelets and chains that elevate any look, making it seem well put together.

He chooses his own clothes for casual outings, and strangely, they are almost always what I would pick up if I were styling him. Because I have been working with him for so long, I guess we are on the same wavelength. It’s a good match.


That’s a perfect match!
A wedding is a very personal event and Ranveer wanted to work with designers he is close to and also complement Deepika’s (Padukone, wife) looks. We worked in tandem to create a mix of both their sensibilities. I also dressed Ranveer’s family for the different events.

Yes, Deepika’s fashion sensibilities have changed post marriage but that’s understandable. When you marry someone and live with them, some bits of them should rub off on you. If they don’t, you are doing something wrong. But if Deepika has started experimenting more, Ranveer has also started going for elegant looks. When they make appearances together, they sometimes go all out with whacky clothes and at other times, keep it classy. The idea is to make a statement together.

Trolls, who?
Both Ranveer and I don’t care about trolls. We don’t read memes. If people are talking about us, it means that we are doing something noteworthy. That’s what fashion is all about. It should start conversations, even debates. What’s the point otherwise?

Gen-Bender
Ranveer has no mental blocks. He is open to all silhouettes and colours. For us, it is not so much about breaking stereotypes but about having fun.

Who decided that men can’t wear pink? Ranveer not only wears it but makes it look hot. I’m lucky to work with someone who is open to everything. It’s liberating to work without boundaries.


DON RETURNS: At the cricket World Cup, we went with a customised suit, with an overcoat and scarf. This was old-world mafioso style with wide-cut silhouettes and vintage plaids. The quirky glares were Ranveer’s touch


WILD CATS: We chose this luxurious pink cheetahprint tux for the prestigious Berlinale. Perfect for turning heads


ON A TUNE: We went with this look for its distinctive colour and cut. Obviously, having Jimi Hendrix on it made it all the m edgy. Ranveer paired it black-and-white glare


BESPOKE-PERSON: This faux fur custom-made jacket created such a buzz! Also, it went perfectly with the film’s promotions

The Hollywood auteur was on a recce in the city and is likely to film around the Gateway of India and Colaba market
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 30, 2019)

After directing the 2017 Academy Award-winning war drama Dunkirk, which depicted the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour in the north of France, Christopher Nolan’s next, Tenet, has already sparked off much excitement among the Indian audience with the announcement that Dimple Kapadia will be playing a significant role in the spy thriller. Mirror has learnt that the auteur was on a recce in Mumbai in February and then again in April and will return back to the Maximum City towards mid September to shoot some portions of the film.

“Nolan was in Mumbai last year for an event hosted by Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on the need to promote the use, restoration and preservation of films. During his four-day stay he decided to shoot here, and in September will mostly be filming in South Bombay, around the Gateway of India, the Taj Mahal hotel and the Colaba Market. For the recce, he was accompanied by production designer Nathan Crowley and cinematographer, Hoyte Van Hoytema among other team members with Shivendra helping them scout for locations too,” informed a source.

The film features Hollywood A-listers like Michael Caine, John David Washington, Kenneth Branagh, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Clemence Poesy, along with our very own Bobby. “Dimple plays a 60-plus lady who has a crucial role in the narrative. Her readings were done at a Sobo hotel,” the source adds.

The Mumbai schedule will stretch up to seven-eight days during which a major chase sequence with be filmed. Some of the Hollywood actors are expected to fly down.

The film has been described as an “action epic” revolving around the international world of espionage. It went on the floors recently in the US and will be shot across seven countries, including Estonia, Italy and London.

The film will open in July 2020. The filmmaker seems to have a soft spot for July with four of his last five films releasing during the month, including The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Dunkirk (2017).

The location where Amitabh Bachchan shook a leg to Jumma Chumma De De was shut last month after BMC found it dilapidated; owners want ‘safe’ portions to be opened
Chaitanya Marpakwar (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 12, 2019)

Colaba’s Mukesh Mill, a popular film shoot location that had been shut last month, might soon open for business.

Last month, the BMC had shut down the premises after declaring the structures dilapidated and unsafe for shooting. The A ward office issued a note, asking the owners to conduct a fresh audit of all structures on the10-acre mill land and to stay shut until then.

Formally owned by East African Hardware Ltd’s Muljibhai Madhvani, the plot was later taken over by TCI Industries Ltd.

In a letter dated April 30, the owners told the BMC that they had carried out a structural audit and found that only some of the structures inside were dilapidated. Pointing out that the unsafe structures were located near the seaside and not close to the open ground, they requested that the remaining portions be opened for shoots.

Hinting that it’s willing to meet halfway, the civic body directed the mill owners to demolish the dangerous structures before being granted permission for film shoots. “We have received a report from the owners. The structural audit has been carried out by Mahimtura Consultants Pvt Ltd. They have claimed that only a handful of structures are dilapidated, while most of the mill structures are in good condition. But we have asked them to first demolish the dangerous structures before allowing any film shooting,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of A Ward. “We can’t take any risk. For us, the entire mill is one structure. So we can only allow any kind of shooting once the dangerous structures are demolished.”

Officials said that the mill, located on a sea-facing plot at Colaba’s N A Sawant Marg, was originally set up before Independence. “At that time, this was probably the only mill in south Mumbai. The mill itself had a large private dock. There, bales of cotton and load yards of finished cloth were unloaded. They were then transferred to large vessels and exported,” an official said.

BMC officials said that the mill became defunct in the 1980s and soon became Bollywood’s favourite spot to shoot climaxes, action sequences and songs. It has been featured in close to 50 Bollywood films since the 1980s. The popular song Jumma Chumma De De from Hum (1991), featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan, was shot there, as were portions of films like Lukka Chuppi, Heropanti, Raaz, Jee Karda and Badlapur in recent times. Many advertisements, too, have been shot there.

Jumma Chumma from Amitabh-starrer Hum to Poster Lagwa Do from Luka Chuppi, Mukesh Mills compound has been a favourite location for several generations of filmmakers. BMC says ‘imminent danger’ of structures collapsing; corporator Makarand Narwekar insists just one building dilapidated, terms civic body’s action mala fide
Chaitanya Marpakwar (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 29, 2019)

It’s pack up for Mukesh Mills compound, the seaside structure in Colaba, which has earned fame and notoriety in equal measures as a film shoot location and a haunted place. In a letter issued by the BMC’s A Ward recently, the owners have been instructed to shut the compound for film shoots and other activities as several structures there have allegedly turned far too weak.

Now owned by the Transport Corporation of India, the compound, spread over 11 acres, needs a fresh audit till which time no activity will take place there, the BMC note said. “A notice has been issued to the Mukesh Mills owners to get a fresh structural audit conducted. Our survey showed that the walls and the chimney have turned weak and the structures are dilapidated,” Assistant Municipal Commissioner (A Ward) Kiran Dighavkar said.

Mukesh Mills compound was established in the early 1900s by Muljibhai Madhvani, who owned East African Hardware Ltd. It was the only mill in south Mumbai at that time. After the collapse of the mills in Mumbai, the compound was abandoned and caught the eye of filmmakers. Songs, climaxes, and action sequences of as many as 50 Bollywood films, including Amitabh Bachchan-starred Hum (above), to more recent movies such as Heropanti (below) and Luka Chuppi (left), have been filmed here. In 1992, there were efforts to redevelop the compound as part of the razing of numerous mills to make way for residential and commercial buildings, but the deal couldn’t be finalised.

Parallel to the film shoots, stories of the compound being haunted spread to such an extent that it became infamous as one of the top 10 haunted places in the entire country. A popular Mukesh Mills story revolves around a hugely popular yesteryear actress warning the crew members to leave the place immediately in a manly voice. Believing that the actress was possessed by an angry spirit, the director immediately announced pack up, the unverified story goes.

A BMC official said that at one point in time, the mill compound had a large private dock from where bales of cotton and yards of finished cloth were unloaded and transferred to ships for export. “The condition of one of the structures has worsened, and we can’t take a risk by allowing film shoots here. The property will have to remain shut till our structural auditor declares otherwise,” the official said.

While the Mukesh Mills’s executive director Sunil Warerkar refused to comment, saying the administrator will reply to queries from this newspaper on Friday, the ward corporator, Makarand Narwekar, said the BMC should re-audit all the structures. “The BMC has only issued a letter and not a notice. There is no section mentioned on the letter and this seems to be an attempt to harass the owners. The place is a hub for film shoots and these should be promoted. There are many structures on the compound and just one of them one of them is dilapidated,” Narwekar, from BJP, said.

“The unsafe structure has been cordoned off. The mill owners have already submitted an audit report about the remaining structures to prove they’re safe. The audit was conducted by the firm empanelled with the BMC, whose actions suggest mala fide intentions,” Narwekar further alleged. 

As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 25, 2019)

I was 18 and a fresh graduate, working towards entering showbiz, when my mother (Genevieve Advani) suggested that along with attending workshops and going to auditions, I should also get some job experience. I had majored in psychology and love being around children, even young ones, so I decided to take up a teaching job while I waited to reach the stars. I got one at the Early Birds playschool, located in Colaba, where mum was the headmistress. She warned me that she would not an indulgent mother in school and I should not be under any delusions that I could do as I pleased while on the job. It was made clear to me that I was expected to be a hands-on teacher and I was quick to agree.

At the school I got an opportunity to showcase and polish up my acting abilities. I would sing and dance for my students, and they really enjoyed my performances while being around the little ones taught me a lot. Even now, when I have a day or even better a week off from shooting, I make it a point to visit the school. Of course, the kids that I taught back then are a few years older now but it’s still fun to catch up with them again.

Before you ask, let me inform you that when I was teaching at the play school, these kids were in the age group of eight months to around five years. I’ve even changed their diapers while on the job. My day would begin at around 6.30 am, well before the kids trooped in. All of us teachers would sit together and plan how to keep them engaged while teaching them a thing or two before he got ready to welcome them. The children were a handful and I had to be alert all the time, ensure that they weren’t fighting with each other but having fun.

By afternoon, when I reached home after work, I would be so exhausted, I would fall asleep but mum didn’t have that luxury as she had chores to complete. After that stint in school, I began to respect her more and would ask her how she had so much energy to do all this after dealing with the kids. Phew! I barely had the energy to go for auditions and attend dance classes. Still, despite everything I had a blast and even got a monthly salary. I don’t remember now how much I was paid but I know that I spent the money on going out with my friends and doing fun things like any other teenager.

I had to quit after eight months when I landed my first film. It was Kabir Sadanand’s comedy-drama and social thriller Fugly opposite Mohit Marwah. This was back in 2014 and kids gave me a great farewell on the final day. It felt like I was graduating from pre-school.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 26, 2018)

After shooting for Kabir Singh, the Hindi remake of Telugu hit Arjun Reddy, on the streets of Bandra, Shahid Kapoor headed to a park in Colaba. And while he had kicked off work on the film in mid-October with a thick beard (inset), Mirror spotted him in a clean-shaven look on Sunday as he rode a bike. The film’s team is shooting in a start-to-finish schedule and recently got started on the second half of the story that features the 37-year-old actor as a college student.

According to a source from the set, the film’s Mumbai schedule, which mostly comprises outdoor locations, draws to a close by December-end. “In January, Shahid will be heading to Delhi, where the film is set, with Kiara (Advani, co-star). After that the team heads to Mussoorie towards January-end to shoot a romantic number,” the source added.