Mumbai street food marked...

The month-old The Bombay Bronx at Dhole Patil Road gets it street food and ambience right for the young crowd. However, will it be enough? It will be a challenge, indeed!

I have been an almost Mumbaikar (living in Thane does count as living in Mumbai, to some extent) and now I call Pune my home. I love both the cities and hate it too for reasons, which I prefer not to share now. While eternal battle continues between the two regarding big & silly issues, the food holds a separate issue. Each city has its distinct culinary mark and do not mind sharing it with each other. Sharing of restaurants has been taking place in recent times and one of the recent Mumbai eateries to be seen around is The Bombay Bronx. It opened around few weeks back.

The Bombay in its name suggests the food type to be seen at the eatery. Bronx, on the other hand, is the street-smart area of New York. Therefore, this eatery located at City Point on Dhole Patil Road represents the street cuisine of Mumbai. Most would question as to the reason behind opening an eatery around street food when one can get it anywhere. The answer I found lay in the fact that most want to taste their favourite Mumbai street snack in an eclectic atmosphere complete with relaxed interiors, good music and great company.

What I appreciated on entering this place was its spacious yet young ambience and interiors. It reeks of Mumbai, in the furniture to the colours. You see reference to the trains, pan stalls, Bollywood and more. I found it quite an ode to the city that never sleeps. The Amitabh Bachchan-Deewar reference with his painting on the wall is a stunner. Even the menu has reference to places and Mumbai lingo. How fun is that? What itched me was the fact that the outdoor seating could do with cover, in case of rains. In case of wind, things can get out of hand. Minor hiccups could land you in major trouble one day.

It is the food, which counts the most important at any eatery. Duh! Street food is The Bombay Bronx’s forte and it does a neat job of it. Neat... not mind-blowing awesome. One can say it is a limited but decent menu covering almost some important food items from amchi Mumbai. While a separate detailed page comes for drinks, the food section attracts you with stuff, which is tempting. You have the ‘Vez’ section and the ‘Non-vez’ section. The Bombay Bronx Fries (Rs 150) tempted you with it spiciness and crispiness. Winner, surely! The Butter Toasted Vada Pav (Rs 100) did make a dent with the exact flavour one finds on the street. I totally loved the Basa Tikka (Rs 250) with its delicate yet tangy flavouring and delicately melt-in-your-mouth. The Pizzas –veg & non-veg – were typically cheesy, tasty and not very Indian. Quite the fun thing to pair with your drinks! While the Masala Fish Fingers (Rs) got our interest with light & extremely delicately tempting, the Chilli Garlic Mushroom (Rs) did not go well with our palette.

For the interested, the Thalis might be an attractive option, if famished. There is the veg Thali – Chowpatty Fast Food Thali (Rs 300) which consists of all chat items. But what interested me was the non-veg Thali called Dongri Galli Thali (Rs 450) which had Chicken Roll, Mini Chicken Baida Roll, Dongri Mutton Sandwich & Bhuna Mutton served with Paratha. The choice was perfect. While the chicken roll was spicy and enticing, the Baida roll too mustered towards perfection. Ignore the sandwich but definitely pick the Bhuna mutton, which was as authentic as it gets.

The best news is reserved for the last. For those who wish to hang out with pals sharing some easy-on-budget drinks, this would be a great pick. Most of the drinks are decently picked and only a few go over 500. This includes the imported stuff. If you want to choose the wines, it is a different case. What you could also select would be the Signature Cocktails like Pani Puri Caipiroska, Kalakhatta, Kokum Sour, Iced Peru, and Jaljeera Sour and so on. Each just adds zing with their unique combination. The service is excellent here with most of the staff friendly and eager to suggest the fare.

While it is nothing spectacular to speak about, The Bombay Bronx does not fall into the okie-dokie category. The decent food & good drinks section fits your pocket. The ambience with the Mumbai reference and good music allows you to casually sit with people you want and spend your time with ease. It is slightly above mediocre and little short of greatness. For those not too hung on hi dining, heading here would be a good option. Come here to just relax & eat respectable budget food.

RATINGS:

FOOD 3 out of 5

AMBIENCE 5 out of 5

SERVICE 5 out of 5

VALUE FOR MONEY 4 out of 5

TOTAL 15 out of 20

The might watchable Detective Byomkesh Bakshy

Detective stories in Hindi films are rare. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is one of the rarities. Dibakar Banerjee’s creation is entertainingly gripping – a must watch. 

The name’s Bakshy... Byomkesh Bakshy. Someone who knows the legendary detective character will know his name is pronounced Bomkesh, not Byomkesh. And that he is the Truth Seeker or Satyanweshi. It intrigues me to see Saridindu Bandyopadhyay’s character from pre-independence era still has star power. It takes guts to take up a detective story of this enormity and make it into a large screen wonder in the present Hindi cinema scenario.

Dibakar Banerjee is probably obsessed on making the unbelievable believable. His latest offering to hit the theatres this Friday, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, brings alive a character which most non-Bengali viewer knew only from Basu Chatterjee’s television series in the early 90s, Byomkesh Bakshi (notice the spelling change). For Bengalis, Byomkesh has appeared on silver screen frequently just for them. Satyajit Ray’s Chiriyakhana (The Zoo) starring Bengal’s Uttam Kumar is the epitome of everything Byomkesh. In recent times, Anjan Dutta has come with two of Byomkesh films, starring Abir Chatterjee rightly as the detective. Ghosh's last offering was a Byomkesh Bakshi film titled Satyanweshi starring director Sujoy Ghosh. There are few other versions too. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy can be in a way the first of its kind in Hindi films.  

The journey starts in pre-independence Calcutta – 1942 to be precise. Young Ajit Banerjee (Anand Tiwari, the best casting ever) meets Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput, perfect casting Part II) to find his missing father, Bhuvan Banerjee. An initial hiccup later, Byomkesh goes to Bhuvan Babu’s lodgings for investigation where he meets the intriguing lodging house owner Dr Anukul Guha (the very unrecognisable Neeraj Kabi), Kanai (Meiyang Chang), & others. He slowly realises Bhuvan Babu’s dealing with opium thanks to being a genius chemist, a chemical factory & the very sexy actress/dancer Angoori Devi (Swastika Mukherjee, ooo la laa). More characters get involved – the factory owner & a leading politician Gajanan Sikdar, his nephew & rising political enemy Sukumar & niece Satyawati, the Shanghai-based Chinese gang drug dealing Greenwood, their Calcutta based mysterious biggie Yuan Guang, the Japanese dentist Dr Watanabe. A simple case turns into an international drama o involving drugs trade, nationalism and Sino-Japanese power change in India.

A true Byomkesh fan would throw a fit for the slight changes in the storyline and mixing two stories into one. The Inquisitor is where Byomkesh meets Ajit and solves a case of drug trade. Where There’s A Will is regarding the death of a rich man and everyone in the family being under suspicion, including his niece & nephew, Satyawati & Sukumar. Kudos to Dibakar & writer Urumi Juvekar for combining the two well & creating a Byomkesh story which is different and yet the same. This is the gamble well-played played. You see a Calcutta which is the centre of WWII action. The film does not go astray from its main purpose: a detective story. If you have seen Guy Ritchie’s take on Sherlock Holmes, Dibakar does the same here with much success. The film is a classy take on the detective story. The only point of concern is the film’s pace. One wishes he would have wound up in 2 hours instead of 2 hours 16 minutes.  

Dibakar’s first point of success is in the casting department, courtesy Honey Trehan. While some might speak about saleability, one is happy to see Sushant Singh Rajput be Byomkesh and let his character be the real hero (which he is). Sushant’s Byomkesh is young, intelligent, hyper (much like the beagle) and quirky. His quirkiness allows a certain humour to seep in, apart from putting the energy in the story’s pace. His Byomkesh is a Smart Alec at times, but never over smart getting on one’s nerves. Whether trying to convince Ajit his father is dead or trying to prove his theories, Sushant is his own in becoming Byomkesh. It works well that Anand Tiwari creates an Ajit Banerjee worried about his father but does not lose his consciousness. He retains Ajit’s innocence but never slips into stupidity. He becomes Byomkesh’s better half in every way.

The surprise element here is the casting of Neeraj Kabi as the devilish Dr Anukul Guha. What an actor! You literally feel a shock wave go through your spine when you realise this two-faced devil is the same actor who played the monk’s role in The Ship of Thesus. He unleashes the evil in him to literally scare you deviously. The rest of the cast (mostly unknown to most) is superbly cast. Meiyang Chang as the opium trader Kanai, Divya Menon as innocently intelligent Satyavati and Swastika Mukherjee as the cunningly sensual Angoori Devi stays in your mind. Swastika in particularly will have a lot of male hearts panting with her subtle sexuality. Of course, as an actor, she shows her mettle.

Dibaker has brought together a technical team which keeps the film running at a good pace. His regular cinematographer Nikos Andritsakis makes each frame the detective’s canvas. Calcutta and the era never looked better. Of course, he is ably supported by the art department under whose command 1942 Calcutta comes alive. You live that period. Special congratulations go to the make-up and costume department which completes the perfect look. Though you wish the start could have crisp, the editing is rock solid most of the time. The very talented music directors keeps the era’s felt intact with their music but adds a certain twist with some unique pieces. See & hear the score used in the showdown at the end.

In recent times, few can be entertaining with a difference. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is surely one of them. It’s engaging and keeps you on the edge. One wishes the 16 minutes could have cut. But we are cool, otherwise.   

Photo Credit: http://cdn.chitramala.in/ & movies.ndtv.com 

A funny blame game

Acclaimed theatre personality Bharat Dabholkar brings to you desi humour with his Blame it on Yashraj. He speaks about it, along with his newer play and directing a play of his style.

While English theatre thrives in Indian metro cities like Mumbai, it occasionally makes it appearance in Pune. An acclaimed English play, Blame it on Yashraj, had come to Pune a few months back. The director of the play is acclaimed theatre personality, actor and ad-filmmaker Bharat Dabholkar. One can give him the credit of bringing in Hinglish theatre. His humour is very Indian and touches one and all. Dabholkar speaks of writing and producing this unique play called Blame it on Yashraj and his work in general.

Would we call it the very typical Bharat Dabholkar play like the previous ones?

Unlike other plays, Blame it on Yashraj is about a wedding in a family. My other plays had mostly Marathi cast and so the accent came in with it too. Here, the cast is different. It is a different play though the basic style is the same. It is a typically Indian play about people from different backgrounds coming together.

How did the concept come up? Is it a typical rom-com? And why Blame it on Yashraj?

Bharat Dabholkar

It is unlike my other plays. It is about Indian weddings which gets bigger and bigger. People have stopped asking for the typical weddings associated with particular communities because of Bollywood. You have choreographers, mehndi ceremonies, destination weddings and so on in all weddings. The scenario has changed. In the name, Yashraj represents Bollywood. In the play, the bride has a Punjabi father and Bengali mother but wants to marry a Muslim. When you think of a Muslim family, you think of terrorist. When the bride’s father gets to know, he imagines terrorists are attacking his house. When they meet, you feel the Muslim family is more educated and fun-loving. It is also a musical. In the last 10 mins, it is all non-stop dance and music.  

It’s quite popular amongst the masses. Was that expected?

Weddings are an integral part of our lives. Anything in this play connects to your wedding. Since it is about a wedding which gets bigger, it might remind one of the weddings one has seen. People feel as if watching a scene from real life. It is like a reflection from your life. After watching it, people have actually come to me saying that this is exactly how it happened in their life. This is what finally works for everyone.

I was intrigued by the casting, especially of Ananth Mahadevan and Jayati Bhatia.

I have known Ananth for years. But I have worked with Jayati for the first time. The interesting thing is she is a Bengali married to a Punjabi. When she came for the audition, I didn’t know that. But she had the perfect accent and then she revealed her connection.

You have been low-key lately. Intentional?

I did a small play called Talk to Me, Aishwarya. I also did Purush in English. After a long time, I came up with this present play. Now, I have come up with a newer version of Bottom’s Up with newer topics. 

You are known for your Indian style of humour. Presently, do you feel we still have that humour?

The thing is different kind of things are happening. Youngsters are coming to theatre. Like in Bottom’s Up, I will be having stand-up comedy by actors. Stand-up comedy is about making fun of things around like politics, etc, which is what the play is about. Youngsters these days are also seeing stand-up comedy and are connecting with it. On social media, people are taking on other people. Youngsters relate to it. Frankly, things have not changed a lot while making fun of politicians. You still have the same old people to laugh at.

Anyone who is your favourite at the moment?

 I don’t see much of theatre these days. But I have seen Vir Das’s show a couple of times and he is one of the best.

Have you given film direction any thought? As a Maharashtrian, why not make a film in Marathi?

A lot of people have approached me. But I am taking it easy. Work for Bottom’s Up is on. After that, maybe I will think. People are already doing great work in Marathi. I will do a film in Hindi.

Photo Credit: http://dogsandpupsmagazine.com/