Vibrant Circles
Dancers spin during a performance at Navratri celebrations in Vile Parle
Dussehra on a bike
The bikers ride in a cordon in Dussehra 2024. Pic Courtesy/Ravi Agarwal
Others might choose pandal-hopping, but the cyclists in the SoBo Cyclists group would prefer to stay on their bikes. Today, around 250 cyclists will sign up for their annual Jalebi-Fafda ride to celebrate Dussehra. “We have been hosting this for the last seven years, and it has become something of a tradition. The numbers signing up every year have only grown. We will start our ride at 7.30 am from Shivaji Park, ride down through the Coastal Road cycling track, and return back to Dadar to finish,” shared Ravi Agarwal, member of the group. While the ride is fun, there are added benefits. “Of course, to celebrate Dussehra, we will distribute jalebi-fafda for all participants. You are welcome to drop in as well,” he told this diarist.
Mayer mania
Pic Courtesy/@JohnMayer
There is a new wave of the Blues heading to Mumbai shores in the new year. Grammy Award-winning vocalist and musician, John Mayer (below), has announced the dates for the Mumbai stopover of his tour that kicks off this week. After travelling through California, Nevada, and Bahrain, Mayer will perform at Mahalaxmi Racecourse on January 22, 2026, before heading out to Abu Dhabi. Before Mumbai fans start ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’, they’d do well to get their hands on tickets that go live from October 12 onwards.
The frog will leap again!
The distinct seating at the venue. File Pic/Nimesh Dave
Something is stirring in the deep waters of Mumbai’s music kingdom. The week began with a buzz among music fans about blueFrog returning to the city’s music-scape, almost a decade after its finale in 2016. A reliable source confirmed the news with this diarist.
Ranjit Barot and John McLaughlin perform at the venue during the launch of the latter’s Floating Point album in 2008. File Pic
We also know that while the property will return to city shores in 2026, this time, it will be located in SoBo. During its run, the venue hosted artistes from the late Ustad Zakir Hussain, Anoushka Shankar and Indus Creed, to John McLaughlin and Imogen Heap. While there is still time for concrete details, this one warms the nostalgic heart.
AK-47 promises a rollicking ride
The buzz in the racecourse circles is that there is AK-47: A biopic web series which is in the making. Do not be misled by the term, ‘AK-47’. This is not a series on terrorism, underworld, cops or gangsters. ‘AK’ stands for Aslam Kader (below), the retired jockey who set India’s racetracks on fire for over two decades and 47 stands for his riding weight.
Pic Courtesy/RS Gupta
The phenomenally popular Kader, called the “Amitabh Bachchan” of horse racing in his heyday, may finally have a Bollywood presence. This diarist tried to reach Kader in Bengaluru, where since retirement in 2004, he teaches riding to young aspirants. Kader’s son Sameer answered and said, “Are you from mid-day? Then, please speak to your racing correspondent Prakash Gosavi; he should be able to explain more.”
A surprised Gosavi asked us how we knew about it. Gosavi revealed the AK biopic is the brainchild of Mumbai-based filmmaker Sahil Saple, who conceptualised it in 2018, and later, when he read his (Gosavi’s) report on Kader in this paper, requested to be connected with Kader. “I was impressed with Sahil’s knowledge about the sport and its intricacies, and was happy to connect him with Kader,” shared Gosavi. “At the moment, I think Sahil is already in the process of collaborating with an established production studio and, simultaneously, in talks with a few leading actors to play Aslam Kader,” Gosavi said, adding,
“I am very curious to know who will eventually play Kader on screen — it will take an exceptionally gifted actor to portray the myriad shades of Kader’s personality, who was always in the news for all the right as well as wrong reasons,” laughed Gosavi.
Filmmaker Saple, who has been closely associated with Ram Gopal Varma and Santosh Sivan, said, “I will talk about this at an appropriate time.” So, we have this confirmed with nobody saying ‘neigh’ to the biopic buzz. As for details, they are awaited but going by Kader’s record and life, we can ‘bet’ AK-47 will be extremely exciting.
