RUBINA’S RADAR | NEWS OF THE NEW

October 23, 2023October 24, 20231 Comment

OCTOBER 24, 2023

It’s the last week of October and Diwali is three weeks away, with 2024 on the ascent not far behind. The season is all about celebrating the new with mithais, movies and money – making it and spending it! And when it comes to a new actor debuting in the world of films in India in 2023, Suhana Khan is the first name that comes to mind given she is Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter, the reigning superstar of India. And new films on Diwali are always almost synonymous with Yash Raj Films, this year being no different with Tiger 3 starring the consummate screen pair, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, with Emraan Hashmi. After the colossal worldwide collections of Pathaan (January 2023) and Jawan (September 2023) of over a ₹1,000 crore and ₹1,100 crore respectively, both starring Shah Rukh Khan, YRF is shooting for even more coin with Tiger 3.

MUMBAI: Even before the release of her first film, Archies, Suhana Khan is a recognised face, beloved and adored by the public, landing her a Maybelline New York campaign in April 2023, headlining the brand in India. That she is loved and famous has a lot to with her father being superstar Shah Rukh Khan, but more so for her personable countenance every time she steps out in public. She expresses herself articulately, and is almost always smiling, polite and affable with fans, selfie-seekers and invasive photographers. She wears her father’s fame and name ever so lightly, just as her Papa, and not the monumental celebrity he is. It’s not like she just woke up one day and decided to act for a living because her father is who he is. She seems to have worked steadily and assuredly towards her dreams, graduating from Ardingly College in the UK, in 2019, winning the Russel Cup for Exceptional Contribution To Drama, but of course, given her artistic leanings. She featured in a 10-minute short film, The Grey Part of Blue, which is about a teenager’s experience of unrequited love, directed by Theodore Gimeno in 2019. After school, she went to the Tisch School Of The Arts in New York to study acting and drama. She came back to Mumbai from Tisch, well prepared and ready to start working as a full-time actor. Her first film, Archies, directed by Zoya Akhtar airs on Netflix on December 7th, wherein she plays the brunette Veronica Logde to ginger-haired Archie Andrews played by Agastya Nanda in the fictional town of Riverdale, set in 1960’s India. She looks the part in the teasers and the songs, pirouetting on skates like a poised ballerina. Needless to add, it is the most anticipated film on everyone’s watch list! “I am 5″3 and brown, and I am extremely happy about it and you should be too,” she once wrote on Instagram in September 2020, in a bid to end colorism and today, everyone is happier for the same. Because, Khan is here to stay and play. A new film, where she will be working with her father, to be directed by Sujoy Ghosh, has also been announced in September. The shooting for this untitled thriller starts only in November 2024 and it will be Khan’s first theatrical release.

©Suhana Khan

MUMBAI: Founder and creative director of Primal Gray, a clothing company based in New Delhi, Yuv Bharatram introduced his fashion label to Mumbai’s fashion forwards with a LAP (label awareness party) on Saturday evening. An alumnus of the Shri Ram School in Delhi, founded by the late Manju Bharat Ram in 1988, and owned by his family, the Shri Rams, Bharatram went on to graduate from the Parson’s School of Design in New York 2017. Having worked as an intern and apprentice with many fashion firms, the last being Hermes in Paris, France, in 2019, Bharatram launched Primal Gray in November 2022. The clothes are fun and easy, crafted from conscious materials and priced accordingly. A year on from the launch, he should perhaps look into retailing the Plexi-Glass Dress he made in 2014, with a flower mask made from recycled spoons, the idea of which stands even more poignant today, making it the right climate for avant-garde Indian fashion almost a decade later. “The Plexi-Glass dress was inspired by how people blindly buy and promote brands, buying the most ostentatious items of clothing just to show off the brand. They would rather showcase their wealth over being well-dressed. The dress is a statement of how other people can see through their insecurities, while they remain blind to the fact that people can see through their veil of superiority – the entrapment of the wearer in their prison of branded clothing,” said Bharatram of the 2014 dress. Primal Gray’s garments non-toxic additions to your wardrobe, but in no way is the label responsible for the toxicity of the wearer! The company also makes candles named after cocktails like Cosmopolitan, Espresso Martini and Negroni, to keep your chakras balanced and aligned, should you need to sage away unwanted energies.

Yuv Bharatram, photographed by Rubina A Khan

MUMBAI: The third film in the Yash Raj Films’ Tiger franchise, and the fifth in their ongoing spy universe series, Tiger 3, written by Aditya Chopra and directed by Maneesh Sharma releases on Diwali this year, on November 12. Starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, the consummate screen pair that made the first two films, Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) blockbuster hits, Tiger 3 has Emraan Hashmi playing the principal antagonist. Chopra intends to expand his super spy universe with multiple screen agents coming together like Tiger (Salman Khan) and Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan) in Pathaan (2023). Tiger 3 traces the events of the agents in Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan.

©Yash Raj Film

The first song from the film, Leke Prabhu Ka Naam, aired on the YRF Youtube channel on October 23rd, with Katrina Kaif looking bewitchingly fine in it. Tiger 3 is Kaif’s first release of 2023 as also Hashmi’s, marking the latter’s 20th year in the film industry.

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2023

I Am A Remote Addict: Amitabh Bachchan #Bollywood #Throwback

December 24, 2018Leave a comment

Towards the end of the 1990s, Amitabh Bachchan’s fortunes were at its lowest ebb. His venture, Amitabh Bachchan Corp Ltd, stared bankruptcy in the face. Worse, his films were flopping. India’s greatest superstar’s days appeared numbered. The public, who had worshipped him for over a quarter century, seemed to be tiring of him. And then Kaun Banega Crorepati happened. Both television and Amitabh’s fortunes changed irrevocably with the quiz show. A decade later now, he returns to the living room of India as the host of the reality show Bigg Boss. His pay cheque for the laity series is rumoured to be Rs 1.5 crore per episode. Aside from being on the tube on a daily basis, by way of peddling designer threads to cars to hair oils, to the infinite reruns of his 70s smash hits to the controversies that make him national news today, Bachchan actually likes watching television. Back in Mumbai after spending time in Singapore with friend Amar Singh who was recuperating from a kidney ailment, Bachchan talked to Rubina A Khan about the small screen, friendships, relationships and his blog which terrifies journalists.

KBC changed TV dynamics forever. You are now back as pop philosopher on Bigg Boss. What do you expect from the show?
I expect nothing more than being able to do the job assigned to me in as efficient a manner as possible. ‘Changing dynamics’ are for the producers of the show to assess. I am not aware what they mean. It will make me happy if the show does well. When the fruits of your labour taste good, it is a fulfilling experience.

If you had a choice, whom would you put inside the house from the film industry?
No one!

KBC prompted many film stars to follow suit. There was Govinda, Shah Rukh Khan and now, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Whose hosting style do you like the most?
Stars from film hosting shows on the small screen gave the viewing audience an opportunity to see and hear their favourites as they were in real life. They were not playing an assigned role written for them by someone else. People liked what they saw and applauded them. So for the viewing audience, each host was appealing, because they were able to see a facet of the actor hitherto unknown. Govinda, Shah Rukh, Salman, Akshay are known to me. I know what they are in real life away from the sets and camera, and they are all very appealing to me. Asking whose style of conducting a show I like, would be asking me to categorise their appeal to me. That would be wrong and unfair. They have all worked with me and have always shown me immense respect. Tell me, how does one give marks to respect?

You are an ardent follower of the international series, The West Wing. What do you like about it? Which character would you have liked to play in the show, if you were asked?
I have liked the very concept of the format. Who would have imagined that the office of the President of the United States of America would be material for a TV serial! The whole excitement of being able to position yourself inside those hallowed portals is enough to keep one glued to the proceedings. Then as the events unfold, the speed with which incidents occur and are addressed, is an education in screenplay writing and performance acumen. Each situation, each performer is so perfectly crafted that it is impossible to find even a minuscule flaw. It’s absolutely brilliant! Just observe the camera movements on shots. It is incredible how they have operated them with such finesse and élan. The timings of the artists, the entries and exits, the lighting and the steady cam movements are done to perfection… And what of the artists! They are all simply brilliant. Each chosen and performing to such perfection that it is ompossible to imagine any other in their place. I would have been happy to play an ‘extra’, or ‘junior artist’ as we address them respectfully here in India, in the background, making my ‘passing shot’ on the odd cue, just so I would get an opportunity to watch and observe how magnificently each episode was recorded.

How many hours of television do you watch in a day?
Depends what kind of show I am watching. A sporting event would occupy me for the entire duration of the game, a serial perhaps for the duration of the episode or not even, news and debates till the topic is over and horror shows not even a few seconds!

Which Indian show is your favourite?
I like the debates and panel discussions and sports activities. On occasion, the History Channel and National Geographic are of great interest to me.

Do you stick out a whole show or are you a channel surfer and a remote addict?
I am a remote addict. Though if you were to disturb a sporting event that I was watching, you’d be in serious trouble.

What’s your favorite TV dinner / snack?
Popcorn, wafers, chura, chikki, cranberry juice, khakra..

The media dreads your blog in case they are next on your flog list. What do you make of that?
This is a most exaggerated assumption. The media dreads no one, and most certainly not someone of my insignificance. The media is the conscience of the nation. It would be a sad day for any nation if their conscience lived in fear. My blog is not a flog destination. It is a medium that allows me to talk to myself, with a few listening on. If I have found inaccuracy in the reported media, I correct it. If I have found merit in their writing, I have applauded it. The media has always been the one that asks the questions, and in doing so has the ability to put the one that gives the answers on the defensive. Observe Prabhu Chawla, Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prannoy Roy, Arnab Goswami, Deepak Chaurasia and a host of other most efficient interviewers on television. Their entire body language and demeanour is one of great authoritative superiority. Pan the camera now at their ‘meal for the day’ sitting opposite, and you shall find all of us quivering there like rats soaked in water, ready to be devoured. My blog gives me an opportunity to ask the questions and for the media to answer them. This is a reversal they have not faced and are therefore wary of it. But why should they? In a free and liberal society, I have equal right to question. And I now have a medium where I can be heard without the intrusion or the tacit permission of the Fourth Estate. If you are not afraid to question, be not afraid to answer too. For far too long, the celebrity on interview has almost pleaded with the interviewer ‘I hope you are going to write something good about me’. I will not hesitate to admit that there is a sense of poetic justice now, when I hear from some rather prominent journalists who come to interview when they say, ‘I hope you are not going to write about us in your blog, we’re very scared of what you will say!’ Let the media be the watchdog of society. We must welcome that. But who’s watching the dog? Or does the watchdog not deserve to be watched?

Bollywood’s a place of fickle friendships and pseudo relationships. But you have been with your friend Amar Singh for months while he was being treated in Singapore. For an extremely busy person, how do you juggle it all so well and make it seem so effortless?
I do not know the meaning of ‘fickle friendships’ nor do I have any knowledge of what ‘pseudo relationships’ mean. Someone is either a friend or not a friend. What are fickle and pseudo doing there? There is no room for them. I also do not like the word ‘juggle’ that you have used. It conveys a manual physical act, deployed to manoeuvre a condition, which in my reckoning requires nothing more than heart. I do not see any reason for me to justify my desire to be with Amar Singhji. To me, he is not a friend, he is a member of my family. I was aware of his medical condition and was aware of the amount of time it would require for him to heal. I therefore finished all my work by end June and came to Singapore to be with him for as long it would take for him to get back. I have not taken on any work and I have no films on hand. Only recently, on seeing his progress and his possible discharge, have I taken on a TV programme that requires my involvement from October. I have been by his side for almost three months now and not moved out for a single day. You say I have made it ‘seem so effortless’. Dear lady, the day I shall have to make an effort in friendship, it will be the end of the relationship!

Abhishek and Aishwarya shot for the Oprah Winfrey show recently. Will we see you and Jaya on her show sometime soon?
How’d I know? Ask Oprah!

This feature first appeared in OPEN on September 26, 2009 and is a part of my #Bollywood #Throwback series

©Rubina A Khan 2018

Indian Realty Adjusts To New Realities | Gulf News

September 29, 2018September 29, 20185 Comments

Luxury realty is the obsessive reality of the moneyed order. Spending money is the only currency that fortifies the social standing of the affluent – both on the Forbes list and off it. Real estate buys and sells make for a fiscal haven in these propitious months of the Indian calendar, but this time around, there are no buyers. The Indian realty index is stable, but it doesn’t compare to what it was prior to demonetization. The immediacy in the market is non-existent but it remains a lucrative market for investors, expats in particular, after the sharp depreciation of the rupee. But time is the key component at play here. Buying property today equals buying time too as a vital appendage.
GULF NEWS COLUMN A luxury apartment in Mumbai valued at Rs70 million will sell, eventually, but time will play a starring role in the sale today. Slashed to Rs55 million at a sizeable paper loss to the owner, it’ll sell within six months to a year. Cutting losses on luxury property investments was unthinkable, the crash of 2008 notwithstanding. I wouldn’t call this a seller’s market – it’s the buyers that decide the when and the where, with no ready money in the market. Realty purchases are entirely need-based and not investment-based, barring corporates who have the money and readily-available loans to enable their investments. Individual investors shirk buying as that entails endless tax probes and exhausting paperwork.

Realty projects are akin to a big Bollywood production that’s high on the collaborative trend today, making for sound business strategy, sharing profits and losses in the entertainment business. This seems to have found favour with realty developers too. But developers don’t really have a choice unlike Bollywood producers who can swing an independent film with Salman Khan playing the lead at whim. They’re compelled to co-build, sitting on overpriced plots that aren’t feasible to build on one’s own financial steam with the continued deceleration of money in the market. Few independent developers build in the luxury segment today. Co-building is a profitable proposition for developers but it makes it a larger liability for buyers to commit to new constructions.

Under construction development in Mumbai | Photo: Rubina A Khan

India’s leaning more towards luxury rentals than luxury buys. Selling seems impossible. The return of investments on purchased property through leasing is abysmal, and not even marginally close to purchase costs. Reselling isn’t easy either. Future-forward individuals are now choosing to rent luxury homes with all the trappings versus buying. Fiscally, it’s more conducive to live the luxe life without a home owner’s liabilities. The freedom to shift in and out of cities, upsize and upgrade to glamorous homes and neighbourhoods when the mood strikes far outweighs setting up immoveable roots in one place – and all of it with clean bank transfers that comply with realty regulations.

Green is the new luxe word and agricultural neighborhoods is the trend du jour. India being an agrarian economy can take to agri-hoods swiftly, integrating agriculture into residential neighborhoods with working farms and green space. Agri-hoods suit the natural Indian landscape and will appeal to environment-conscious, rich millennials who are always seeking the “next level” in their lives. Living concepts of clean eating, organic produce, solar energy, climate change, rainwater harvesting and the great outdoors with fresh air are selling successfully through smart adverts worldwide. Under-construction properties advertise zealously with a definitive emphasis on green cover and integrating sustainable and organic food produce everyday – a miniscule attempt, but important nevertheless. Full-scale agri-hoods is the future of luxury realty and building agri-hoods will unify Indian community living.

Under construction development in Mumbai | Photo: Rubina A Khan

Art that no longer hangs on a wall or is vulgarly placed in the middle of a room nor discussed in hushed tones, but tactile art is taking over luxury realty. Established and emerging artists are designing not just pieces of art, but entire residences, harmonizing their artistic voices with the distinct individualism of home owners. Fashion couturiers Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani are both engaged in residential design, adding their genius to concrete. Fashion and art create a historical archive of the times we live in.

Architecture is almost incongruent to individualism with high-rises taking over Indian metros, cities and towns. But the highest honor in the architectural world – the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate – went to an Indian for the first time this year. Professor Balkrishna Doshi won the honor for his deeply personal and poetic architecture that touches lives of every socio-economic class across a broad spectrum of genres. If only the Indian realty business could turn a page as poetic as his works in its design ethos.

This feature first appeared in Gulf News on September 29, 2018

©Rubina A Khan 2018

RUBINA’S RADAR | THE FIRST WEEK OF 2018

January 8, 2018January 16, 20184 Comments

RUBINA’S RADAR

2017 ended with a thunderous affirmation of Salman “Tiger” Khan being more than just alive with ₹300 crore and counting at the box office with Tiger Zinda Hai. 2018 opened with a worldwide reverberation of Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance speech, in Atelier Versace in Time’s Up black at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. Add a celebrated Sri Lankan/Japanese masterchef to that and the first week of 2018’s been all about film, fashion, food and fiercely female.

Sri Lankan chef, Dharshan Munidasa of the famed Ministry Of Crab in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is finally bringing his restaurant to Mumbai in May 2018. Munidasa, of both Sri Lankan and Japanese descent, owns Ministry Of Crab, one of the World’s Top 50 Restaurants 2017, alongside business partners and cricketing legends, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakarra in his home country. The masterchef was in the city for a day with Jayawardene to announce the opening of the restaurant, in collaboration with Gourmet Investments Pvt Ltd at the newly opened, The Runway Project, in Phoenix Mills. The signing of the partnership amidst flashbulbs was rather unfashionably Trump-esque, but aside from that, it was a mirthful evening. There’s always a story behind everything and everyone famous today, including Munidasa. India’s best known wine connoisseur, Sanjay Menon, chanced upon Munidasa’s culinary skills at his standalone Japanese restaurant, Nihonbashi in Colombo, about a decade ago, when Ministry Of Crab did not even exist. Menon is a friend Munidasa values highly as his word of mouth, and a private pop-up dinner at the ITC Parel that he organised with Munidasa in the kitchen some moons ago, created the Munidasa magic that subsequently led to the opening of the first Ministry Of Crab. Mumbai will be the second outpost of the restaurant, the location of which still being a classified secret, and the third is slated to open in Bangkok, Thailand later this year. Mumbai is ready for some “crab excellence” Munidasa style, this summer.

A new resto-bar, Mashhad is opening this January at a first-of-its-kind location in Mumbai. Mashhad is situated right inside the entrance corridor of the Taj Santacruz hotel at the city’s domestic airport in Santacruz. Comprising of Persian-Lebanese-Indian cuisine, it is an unusual spot to open a fine-dining, only by reservation, restaurant and lounge. Mashhad was scheduled to open on Salman Khan’s birthday on December 27th, with him as the guest of honour, but it had to be postponed to January due to unforeseeable circumstances. Khan will be at Mashhad on opening night, supposedly on the 10th of this month, alongside a smattering of celebrities and wannashines who’d like to reaffirm their own existence in the presence of the elusive Tiger.

Sanjay Menon, Dharshan Munidasa and Mahela Jayawardene

Salman Khan

Mashhad

Oprah Winfrey at the 75th Annual Golden Globes

And the United States created fiercely female history that stands testament to the fact that America is a land where dreams and aspirations come true. Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award Lifetime Achievement Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globes in LA with an acceptance speech that will reverberate for years to come, not to mention the long standing ovation she received from everyone in the room at the Beverly Hilton. Winfrey is the first African-American woman to receive this award, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”. “In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother’s house in Milwaukee watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for Best Actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope, and said five words that literally made history: ‘The winner is Sidney Poitier.’ Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white and, of course, his skin was black. And I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation in Sidney’s performance in Lilies of the Field, ‘Amen, amen. Amen, amen’. In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award. I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know that the press is under siege these days, but we also know that it is the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice, to tyrants and victims and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories,” said Winfrey on stage.

If the rumblings of Winfrey running for the US Presidency 2020 are true, and she does run, I will be the happiest girl in the world. I too, was once a little girl, watching The Oprah Winfrey Show every chance I got, being mesmerised by her work, her kindness, her humour and laughter and her unflailing faith in the fabric of humanity. I learnt a lot from her talk show – right from serious issues plaguing the world, exposes on the macabre practices of mankind, every fun fashion and makeup item on her favourites list, what books to read, Maya Angelou poems, her philanthropic work across the world and every celebrity I should know of, and wanted to meet, through her show. She made me believe I could do anything I wanted to, and in the greater tomorrows to come.

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2018

RUBINA’S REVIEW: TIGER ZINDA HAI

December 22, 2017December 23, 2017Leave a comment

It’s been half a decade since Salman “Tiger” Khan’s romantic action thriller Ek Tha Tiger hit theatres on Independence Day in 2012 to a resounding ka-ching at the box office, that Yash Raj Films is all too familiar with. The film ended with India’s most indispensable RAW agent Avinash Rathore aka Tiger vamoosing off to Havana, Cuba to live a life of quiet anonymity (hah!) with his Pakistani ISI agent love, Zoya (Katrina Kaif).

tigerjpg
The sequel’s title says it all – he’s alive and kicking up powder in Austria with his son, Junior, fighting off packs of wolves (without killing them) unarmed with bare hands, skiing down the slopes, without taking off his winter jacket even once in the sequence. It cannot get any more real than that in Bollywood. And when he’s not busy playing dad or a spy in voluntary retirement, he spray-paints his love for wife Zoya on snow-capped mountain slopes to Atif Aslam’s Dil Diya Gallan in big-eyed wonderment. Nothing much has changed for Khan and his indomitable cinematic appeal since Ek Tha Tiger, though the same cannot be said for Kaif, despite her enviable pilates lean body. This Tiger is burning brighter than ever and Khan wings the film with indefatigable ease, never mind a couple of awkward supporting cast members and an askew, inconsistent pace of the film which could have been sharper and faster.

What I loved about Tiger Zinda Hai:

Sheer girl power in the film. Where in Bollywood films does a wife rescue her husband in a war-struck country and drive him around without him switching to the wheel mid-save? The said wife, Katrina, is a bad-ass Bhabhi from her current location in Austria who swivels guns better than rolling pins in Ikrit, Iraq.
Salman Khan skiing on the Innsbruck slopes, fully clothed.
What’s better than a shirtless Salman? A bloodied warrior Salman toting double guns saving 39 Indian and Pakistani nurses!
I loved Iranian born and UAE resident, Sajjad Delafrooz’s consummate performance as the antagonist Abu Usman, but for a verbose sermon he had to give Tiger at the tail end of the film. Restrained and confident acting on his part.
Horses in the action sequences remind you why fast cars and bikes use horse power units of measurement in the first place and with Salman riding one, it’s a cinema freeze frame for life.
Not using divisive political tactics in the film’s narrative, but humanitarian ones.
The White House representative with an uncanny Sarah Huckabee accent, sans any Trumpa Loompa.
The film only has two songs picturized on the lead cast of Khan and Kaif – Dil Diya Gallan in the beginning and the second, Swag Se Swagat at the end.
What Khan’s presence in the Liwa Desert does for Abu Dhabi tourism is incomparable to anything they could have envisaged for themselves. And Khan wasn’t just another mirage!
I had fun watching Tiger Zinda Hai and wanted to clap in all of Katrina’s bad-ass Bhabhi scenes, and most of the cool sequences.

©Rubina A Khan 2017

RUBINA’S RADAR | JUSTIN BIEBER LANDS IN MUMBAI FOR ONLY 30 HOURS #PURPOSETOUR #INDIA

May 10, 2017May 10, 20171 Comment

RUBINA’S RADAR

After three days of what seemed like an eternity waiting for Justin Bieber to fly into Mumbai, the pop star finally landed in his private jet at the Mumbai international airport at 1AM with the rest of his security detail in tow. There was a blitzkrieg of flashbulbs as he exited the VIP Gate No 8 of the Mumbai airport at 1.20AM wearing a pink hoodie and board shorts. The waiting photographers that had staked out the airport all day in anticipation of his arrival in the scorching sun with no respite from the heat, got the “money shot” of the star past midnight, much to their relief.

Justin Bieber exiting Mumbai International Airport at 1.20am May 10th 2017

Bieber left the airport in a white Mercedes SUV AMG G63 2017 followed by his security, all in Mercedes’, but varying models. The Grammy award winning singer went straight to the St Regis Mumbai where he entered the hotel around 2am, and will be in residence in the Presidential Suite for the next 30 hours, after which he is flying off to South Africa leg of his Purpose World Tour to perform at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Bieber will be flying to the venue, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where he is performing at 8PM tonight, in a helicopter. When you’re the biggest pop star in the world, you really don’t want to waste time stuck in Mumbai’s snarling traffic jams.

Photo: Rubina A Khan | Getty Images

As far as the parties go, it is highly unlikely that either Salman Khan, who is filming for Tiger Zinda Hai in Abu Dhabi till May 22nd or Shah Rukh Khan, who is shooting for Dubai Tourism till May 12th will host the Canadian musician in Mumbai. After the show, Bieber intends to party backstage at the stadium with a pop-up bar, replete with skateboards and his favourite tour things, a dossier of which was unethically leaked to the press prior to his arrival in Mumbai. But not before he takes a dip in the jacuzzi specially hauled out for him at the stadium and a massage by a special masseuse flown in from Kerala.

UPDATE: Bieber went out in the wee hours of the morning to see the Gateway of India and Haji Ali and even took a ride in a Victoria, which is a horse-drawn carriage from the Victorian times. He is now on his way to the Helipad in Mahalaxmi to take a chopper to the stadium in Navi Mumbai for his show later on tonight.

For more details on Bieber at the show and after the show, check in here later!

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2017

RUBINA’S RADAR | WHERE’S JUSTIN BIEBER SLEEPING IN MUMBAI TONIGHT? #BIEBERFEVER #BIEBERINMUMBAI

May 9, 2017May 9, 20172 Comments

RUBINA’S RADAR

Justin Bieber’s hit track, Where Are You Now is the endless refrain of Beliebers in India who just can’t wait to see him perform live for the very first time in Mumbai tomorrow. The Grammy award winning artiste is scheduled to land in Mumbai today for his Purpose Tour show tomorrow evening, May 10th, at the DY Patil Stadium. He was slated to fly in on May 7th but the singer is still in Dubai, partying at Cavalli Club at the Fairmont Dubai, soaking up the sun with pool parties at Zero Gravity (with his security detail in the pool with him!) rounds of football at the Habtoor Grand hotel, dune bashing in the desert and shopping jaunts at the newly opened Apple store in the Dubai Mall. Earlier this morning Bieber tweeted “Dubai is incredible, India you’re next” from Dubai. Bieber is definitely doing Dubai right!
535290970 He’s booked in two hotels in the city – the St Regis Mumbai in midtown Mumbai (where his team and tour manager have been staying in since May 7th) and The Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point. Now, it remains to be seen where, (not with whom!) Bieber will be sleeping tonight in Mumbai! But first, can he land in the city already?

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2017

RUBINA’S RADAR | PICTURES FROM THE JUSTIN BIEBER SHOW RECCE AT THE DY PATIL STADIUM IN MUMBAI

May 8, 2017May 9, 20171 Comment

RUBINA’S RADAR

With not even two days to go for the highly anticipated Justin Bieber concert to be held at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Bieber Fever is at an all-time high in the city and that is an understatement in itself. The Grammy award winning Canadian popstar is still in Dubai, UAE post his blowout performance at the Autism Rocks Arena on Saturday night wherein he started the show on the dot at 8PM and closed it with his massive hit, Sorry. Bieber went for a spot of dune bashing in the desert earlier this morning and a tech trip to the new Apple store in the Dubai Mall that opened on April 27th. He is expected to fly into Mumbai in his private jet either today or tomorrow. His tour manager and team landed in Mumbai last night to get the gig started before the star arrives into the city.

Here are some PICTURES of the security firm hired to look after Bieber in Mumbai, Tiger Detective and Security Services and its head, Gurmeet Singh Jolly, also known as Shera and Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan’s bodyguard, during a recce at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai today, ahead of the star’s Purpose Tour performance on Wednesday evening:

Shera (in blue) at a recce at the DY Patil Stadium for the Justin Bieber show

Shera (L) at a recce at the DY Patil Stadium for the Justin Bieber show

Shera (in blue) and his team at a recce at the DY Patil Stadium for the Justin Bieber show

Shera and his team at a recce at the DY Patil Stadium for the Justin Bieber show

Shera (R) at a recce at the DY Patil Stadium for the Justin Bieber show

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In A Goa Glam State Of Mind…

December 29, 2016December 13, 20182 Comments

Rubina A Khan reviews the North and South of Goa and the beaches in between “in a glam state of mind…”

It’s the last few days of 2016 and everyone’s talking about New Year’s Eve parties and where they’ll be ushering in the first sunrise of 2017. But it’s Goa with its warm sun, salty sea and shaken and stirred patterns in the sand, where the beach-erati are at this holiday season, bidding 2016 adieu with a beachy bang. Goa fulfills the three most sought–after F’s of life – fun, food and fashion in a manner most susegad (living and enjoying life to the fullest with a relaxed attitude). And there’s no celebratory time quite like Christmas and New Year’s to be in Goa to make it a fiesta to remember. Here are the top five reasons to hit Goa, apart from its innumerable beach parties and music scene, from the North to its South to the beaches in between, making it an unrivaled party destination in India, every year, all year round:

GLAMOUROUS FUN: The opening of the first W hotel in India earlier this month, the W Goa in Vagator in North Goa, has flipped the olde Goan susegad mood board into a glamorously sassy one. W Goa is spread across 25 acres of luxuriant greens along the Arabian Sea, with unparalleled views of swaying coconut palms and the idyllic Vagator Beach shore from its elevated Rock Pool. The Goan red laterite stone is dominant in the hotel’s contemporary architectural style with installation artist, Subodh Kerkar’s art works from his Indigo and Chilli series occupying places of pride in the hotel’s design métier.

Installation artist, Subdoh Kerkar’s art from his Indigo series

But it’s the W that shines bright like a gleaming diamond, at the entrance of the hotel, embodying its edgy and fashionable spirit that sets the tone of the heady times ahead.

The glamorous entrance of the W Goa

The Kitchen Table, an all-day diner overlooking the pool, serves the best Goan thali ever! The Bamboo Charcoal Prawn Tempura with Mango and Wasabi, a signature dish of Chef Tanveer Kwatra, Director of Cuisine, W Goa at Spice Traders, the hotel’s Pan-Asian restaurant is just exquisite, as is the Baked Singapore Chilli Crab and the Tuna Truffle Tostadas with Caviar.

Baked Singapore Chilli Crab at Spice Traders

Bamboo Charcoal Prawn Tempura with Mango and Wasabi

The food at W Goa is exemplary in its distinctive tastes, flavours, finesse and technique and is poised to become a culinary haute spot in Goa very soon. The neon-hued WeeKids, a kids club, a first for the W globally, is immensely popular, almost as much as the music and DJ line-up at the Rock Pool bar. And what’s a little glamour without some Bollywood thrown in? Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan and his family, were one of the very first guests’ in residence during the W Goa’s inaugural run in India. So, if you ever wanted to sleep in the same bed as Khan (without him in it, of course!) well, now you can in the W villa!

Amit Bhosale, owner W Goa and Salman Khan

EPICUREAN TRAILS: The culinary scene in Goa is as incredibly diverse as its people, not to mention addictive. There’s no dearth of restaurants and bars in Goa, with world cuisine available right from a beach shack to a luxury hotel. The coolest places to hang out and actually eat in, rather than just be seen in, are undeniably Thalassa Greek Taverna (Greek / Mediterranean) on Small Vagator and Gunpowder The Peninsular Kitchen (South Indian) in Assagao. Eating here is akin to a food pilgrimage in Goa. Thalassa is always bustling with people, enjoying their Lamb Gyros, Feta Moussakas and Risotto Prawns, taking in the spectacular views from the restaurant, at any given time of the day or night. The blue and white Greek village environs add to the charm of Thalassa that entices you to eat (a lot!), laugh and shop without a care in the world. Gunpowder’s cuisine ranges from flavours from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and even some parts of Maharashtra. From Syrian Christian Beef, Kerala Mutton Curry and Andhra Prawns to their famous fluffy Egg Appams to a South Indian must, a steaming plate of idlis with gunpowder, it’s like a little bit of India on a very big, rotating plate. You might just run into Twinkle Khanna riding in on her yellow scooter here as it is one of her favourite restaurants in Goa.

FASHION: Fashion in Goa is refreshingly personal. It’s you and your vibe, but a new outfit on New Years Eve is de rigeur, wherever you might be in the world. Fashion designer Malini Ramani’s vibrant store in Calangute can help you get your Goa glam on with everything resort – from shimmering off shoulder dresses to feather flirt tops to sundresses to sequined shorts and bikinis. So whether you’re going to a sundowner at the W Goa or a fireworks and bonfire NYE party on the beach, or just taking a selfie with a cow on the streets, you’ll find something that works, and dazzles on you. Bold-hued outfits line the racks in Ramani’s store, with a large black and white embellished artwork by her on the wall, that balances the color play, reflective of the designer’s definitive sense of style, that is loved and worn by Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone, who makes her Hollywood debut in XXX: Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel in the new year.

Malini Ramani’s store in Calangute | Photo: Rubina A Khan

RELAX: What’s a holiday without a round of golf ala Rory Mcllroy on the Double T 9-hole golf course on the beautiful greens of the Lalit Golf and Spa Resort in South Goa or some good old soccer on the beach? Spread over 85 acres, the Baroque-Portuguese styled resort has an imposing hand-painted tile mosaic of Sao Rafael, the first Portuguese ship that landed in Goa, steered by Vasco De Gama to add to its cultural charm. With sweeping views of the Sahyadri mountain range, along the confluence of the Talpone river, the Lalit’s manicured grounds are ideal to commune with yourself. If sport is your idea of a relaxing holiday with the family with your kids running wild, then the Lalit has everything from Lawn Tennis to Table Tennis, Squash, Volley Ball, Badminton, Cycling, Zorbing, Parasailing, Archery, Air Rifle Shooting to fuel your athletic side. And if you love spas, then Rejuve at the Lalit is an added must to your itinerary!

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DETOX: The pursuit of a vibrant and energized spirit is on everyone’s mind for the new year and the Detox Detour at the Alila Diwa Goa set amidst luxuriant rice plantations and mango, banyan and peepul trees, along Gonsua Beach in Majorda, South Goa offers just that. Just the idea of a detox detour is so appealing that it does not take any persuasion to check right in, straight into the serene and soothing environs of Spa Alila. Specially designed as 3,5,7,10 and 14 night packages right from a body composition analysis to holistic and ayurvedic treatments to nutritionally balanced meals, the Detox Detour at the Alila works at correcting imbalances and health deteriorations due to the stresses of modern living and enhancing your optimal wellness. After all the hedonistic partying and food indulgences during the holidays, Spa Alila’s bespoke treatments infuse elements of Ayurveda, yoga, massage, fitness, hypnotherapy, pranic healing and nutrition to nourish and cleanse your mind, body and soul so you can take on 2017’s exciting new adventures with renewed fervor.

There’s a little bit of Goa for everyone, and in everyone’s heart, and the glamorous new Goa is where it is all really at!

This feature first appeared in Gulf News on December 29, 2016