The Brunette Diaries

The White Tiger Producer Mukul Deora and lead actor Adarsh Gourav talk about the new India represented in the Oscar-nominated movie

April 13th, 2021, Mumbai: Last few years have been exceptionally successful for Indian makers as the content that is originated from here is reaching new heights every day. One such recent outing to make it all the way to Oscars is none other than The White Tiger, produced by Mukul Deora, starring Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Rajkummar Rao and helmed by Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani.

After garnering numerous accolades across the globe, the film has been nominated for an Academy Award under the category of Best Adapted Screenplay. The beautiful tale, penned originally by Man Booker winner Aravind Adiga in his novel of the same name, is about is a gripping story that reflects realism and sheds light on the class divide prevalent in India. The empowering film is loaded with a thriller as Mukul Deora imagined it to be. Ever since he read the book, he desired to give life to this enigmatic writing by Aravind Adiga.

Talking about how steps like these are working towards putting the new India on the map, lead actor of the film, Adarsh Gourav says, “This is a great time to be around for anyone creative. Digital platforms have opened up so many new doors of opportunities for us. The kind of work that is happening is a lot braver and more experimental. People are willing to take risks. We now don’t have to worry about box office numbers as such. We have to worry about our own craft and focus on that. The new India that we represent is exactly the new India that Balram represents where you dare to dream and you have the resources and opportunities to realise them”

Producer Mukul Deora shares, “This is a movie about a driver killing his master. Last year there was Parasite, before that Roma. Why are these stories about uncomfortable truths being made all over the world and are successful? Not just in India. Because of digital platforms and new forms of media, there is a realisation that there was always a hunger for these stories amongst audiences. I always wanted to hear amazing, true, compelling stories, but because of the system that was there with marketing budgets being so high, and a winner takes all mentality, it was hard for 90 per cent of these movies to break through and to get financed. Now because they are easily viewed by anyone on phones, etc, the audience is lapping it up over the world. White Tiger was number 1 in 61 countries. It’s an amazing story. It really resonated with me.”

Renowned for his music and now cinema, producer Mukul Deora is currently working on his next film which will also be a book adaptation.

Actor Adarsh Gourav gets nominated in BAFTA 2021 for The White Tiger | Five Indian films that went to British Academy of Film and Television Arts

March 11, 2021, Mumbai: For a filmmaker, the success of a film is not just limited to the Box Office but also that they want their final cut to be critically acclaimed. That’s the acknowledgment they wait for eagerly.

Indian filmmakers have made their mark in world cinema by showcasing relatable, universal emotions through their content. Indian Cinema is contributing to the growth of the industry for more than 100 years now and it is a great success that they are being acknowledged not only in the homeland but also by the world.

Recently, actor Adarsh Gourav has bagged a nomination in the lead actor category at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards 2021 for his performance in The White Tiger. The film is produced by renowned musician, entrepreneur, and film producer Mukul Deora. Starting his musical journey with the debut album ‘Stray’ in 2006, Mukul has produced several music pieces that have received global appreciation making him an international musician. Moving a step ahead, Mukul turned into a film producer and ‘The White Tiger’ has added one more feather in his cap.

Let’s celebrate this achievement by peeping back into history to check five Indian films to reach BAFTA.

1. Gandhi –

Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi is still considered as one of the masterpieces created on Indian soil. Starring some notable Indian actors, Richard beautiful established the life of Mahatma Gandhi on the big screen. The film was nominated for the best film category in the 36th BAFTA

2. A Passage to India –

Based on the 1960 play by Santha Rama Rau, A Passage to India was directed by David Lean. The film narrates the story between the dynamics of British colonials and the Indian locals wherein a British tourist Adela Quested (Judy Davis) accuses Indian doctor Aziz Ahmed (Victor Banerjee) of rape. The accusations lead to legal procedures that increase the tensions between the British and the natives. Actor Victor Banerjee was nominated for the best actor category in the 39th BAFTA Awards.

3. Salaam Bombay –

A film that gave us a reality check and documented the real and old Mumbai, Salaam Bombay still stands as one of Mira Nair’s best works. The film revolved around the lives of children living in the slums of Bombay. Along with many other award shows, the film was also nominated for BAFTA Awards.

4. Devdas –

Adaption of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 Novel Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali gave us a beautiful tale of love between Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukh through his 2002 film Devdas starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film did wonders at the Indian Box Office and was critically acclaimed at BAFTA Award for best foreign-language film.

5. The White Tiger –

Produced by musician turned Hollywood Producer Mukul Deora, the Ramin Bahrani directorial The White Tiger was already in the Oscar Race. And now, as the nominations come in, we hear that Adarsh Gourav who has played the lead character of Balram Halwai has been nominated for the best lead actor category in BAFTA awards 2021. Not only this, but the film has also been nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay award. The film is based on Aravind Adiga’s 2008 novel The White Tiger.

Known for his artistic capabilities, Mukul Deora’s The White Tiger has been loved by people across the globe. We wish the team good luck for BAFTA 2021.

“Both money and fame are an illusion, what matters to an artist is the thrill of performance,” Filmmaker Mukul Deora speaks about art-culture

March 5^th, 2021, Mumbai: Known for creating outstanding music, Mukul Deora’s journey to a well-known musician is quite inspiring, and he is one of the few Indians who have established their presence across the globe.

Signed to Sony BMG in 2006, Mukul released his first music album ‘Stray’, which eventually reached number 12 on the Indian Music Charts. Exec-produced by Howie B of U2 and Bjork fame, the album was hailed a critical and commercial success. United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper mentioned it as “an uneasy, surreal new vision of India.” whereas Pennyblackmusic said, “It’s a hallucinatory experience.”

Before this success, Mukul also founded an ambient sound collective company – Transmit Audio Lab where they created lengthy soundscapes using resonances from Mumbai’s aural fabric. The experiment is still considered India’s first attempt at this.

In 2009, Mukul organised an art show in Mumbai titled BREAK. It was a participative experiment wherein the participants were taken to an undisclosed location where a scene was constructed with a car and sledgehammers. By 2012, BREAK had achieved near-mythological status, and Diesel + Art had an exhibition with images and videos from the original event.

Sharing about his love for art, Mukul shares, “As far as I can recall, music has been a constant factor in my life. From DJing at soundsystems, to working with diverse communities to spread new forms of music. For example, I went to Jaipur and collaborated with local folk musicians to create a completely new version of Stray that we performed in various places. So much fun!”

Talking about the recognition, he adds, “When you are truly passionate about something, things like fame don’t matter much. It’s ultimately all about connections and collaborations, and taking risks.”

Known for his extraordinary music, Mukul Deora is also an entrepreneur along with being a renowned film producer.

Try These Different Styles Of Saree This Karva Chauth And Diwali

You can keep your chaniya cholis back in the wardrobe, it’s time for Karva Chauth and so TBD presents you with different styles of saree to up your fashion game this festive season. Karva Chauth is celebrated on 27th October, 2018, followed by Diwali later from 7th-9th November.

It is the time and month of a lot of shopping, cleaning, dressing up and having fun and mainly spending time with loved and dear ones. Karva Chauth is a one-day festival which is celebrated by mainly married women. These married women fast for their husband’s long life and good health from morning sunrise and break their fast after praying to the moon and doing a pooja. Sometimes, unmarried women join the fast for their fiancés. Women who keep fast and celebrate Karva Chauth love to dress up especially in saree.

So, here are eight different ways to drape your beautiful saree this Karva Chauth/Diwali:

1. Bengali style

In Bengali style saree, sarees pallu plays an important role. It has to be of thick border. If you wanna show off your sexy back or the back of your blouse, this style is perfect for it.

2. Belted style:

It is to be worn like a normal saree but all you need for this look is a statement belt to cinch your waist. It adds a modern and edgy flair to the average saree look.

3. Butterfly style:

If you want to flaunt your figure then this is the best way to wear your saree. Seen on most Bollywood celebrities today, this sexy saree style is a non-bulky and modern take on saree draping. Just pleat the top part of your pallu into a thin column after creating a fan-like, butterfly shape at the lower part of the pallu. Another variation of this involves pleating the pallu into a single column, which goes across the torso.
This is how you do it:

4. Dhoti style

This saree draping style is gaining a lot of popularity amongst fashionistas and is something unique and elegant.

This is how it is done:

5. Mumtaz style

Well, this look will never fade away or die. The retro look. This style was made famous by actor Mumtaz, and is a great party look if you love a sexy chiffon saree with a blingy border.

This is how you can wear it:

6. Gujarati style

This style is the favourite among all the ladies especially Gujarati. This traditional style of draping a saree brings out the rich work in heavy sarees, like Kanjeevarams or Banarasis.

7. Nauvari style

This saree draping style is distinguished by its unusual draping pattern which necessitates it being worn around the legs like a dhoti while the upper part is worn like a normal saree.

8. Half Saree
Usually, the garment of half saree is woven with cotton or silk. The half saree outfit can look similar to southern styles of saree because the drape travels in the same direction: tucked into the front of the skirt, then wrapped around the waist, and then draped over the opposite shoulder.

So which saree are you gonna wear this Diwali or Karva Chauth?

Bollywood Celebrities Who Got Hitched In 2018

In tabloids, rumours of celebs hooking up, breaking up and patching up are dime a dozen but only some relationships last long and bare the fruit of marriage. Indian Team Captain Virat Kohli and one of Bollywood’s successful actress Anushka Sharma got married in a secret wedding – close friends and family only- in December last year. Since then, a lot of celebrities tied the knot since January 2018.

This year looks like a wedding year in Bollywood. So this wedding season let’s list down the celebrities who got hitched in 2018 as well as those who are set to tie the knot in the remaining 60 odd days of 2018.

Here’s who all got hitched this year:

1. Sonam Kapoor & Anand Ahuja:

This lovely couple got married on 8th May 2018 in Mumbai. It was a 3-day wedding function with sangeet, wedding, reception and after party. The two look adorable together <3

2. Neha Dhupia & Angad Bedi:

On 10th May 2018, a very pleasant news came around when we got to know that Neha Dhupia & Angad Bedi exchanged vows in a Gurudwara. It was a surprise for all that no one expected.

3. Ankita Konwar & Milind Soman:

A lot of buzz was created when people got to know that 52 years old Milind Soman was dating 27 years old Ankita Konwar. But ignoring the trolls, the two got married on 22 April 2018. This couple chose a conventional wedding with Maharashtrian rituals. They exchanged vows in Alibaug in the presence of close family and friends.

4. Sonia Kapoor & Himesh Reshammiya:

This was an only family wedding. The two tied the knot in a private ceremony in Mumbai on May 11. They looked super cute and totally in love in their wedding pictures.

5. Yuvika Chaudhary & Prince Narula:

Yuvika and Prince recently got married, October 12th, in Mumbai. They had a lavish ceremony in the city that was attended by the friends and family. The wedding was quite filmy and the couple didn’t shy away from indulging in loads of PDA during the various ceremonies. Aww <3

Weddings to happen in November-December 2018:

• Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas:

The couple made their love official with a Roka ceremony attended by both their families in Mumbai, on August 18th. The two are planning to get married in November or December 2018.

And the most anticipated wedding everyone is excited for:

• Deepika Padukone & Ranveer Singh:

This is the most awaited wedding of the year. After loads of reports and speculations of their marriage, the couple decided to end all rumours and on 21st October, they decided to finally reveal their wedding date. The two are set to tie the knot on 14th & 15th November. Can’t wait to see their wedding. If rumours are true, it is believed that the couple will have a destination wedding in Italy.

Well, congratulations to all of them who got married and who are going to get married. Wishing you guys a happy life ahead.

There’s A Whole Day Dedicated For Caramel Apples? Really?

Yes, you read it right folks! There is a day dedicated for Caramel Apple and it is TODAY. 31st Oct, is celebrated as National Caramel Day people along with Halloween, bet not many know that right? As if October 31 wasn’t awesome enough, think costumes and candy, ghouls and fools.

Caramel apples and Halloween go together like ghosts, goblins, tricks, and treats. The tradition stretches back decades to the day a creative Kraft confectioner invented the wonderfully simple recipe while trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of excess Halloween caramels.

Let’s dig up some history about this:

1000 AD

There’s no consensus as to the origins of caramel, but some experts say a hard, crunchy version of caramel was first concocted by Arabs.

6500 BC

According to some historians, apple trees were the first trees to be cultivated by humans. In fact, experts argue, the origin of all modern-day varieties of apples was in Anatolia (near present-day Turkey).

The 1800s

Halloween became a bonafide holiday celebration due to the influence of Irish and Scottish immigrants. By 1900, many Americans celebrated the spooky holiday, which ultimately grew into a cultural phenomenon — from sea to “The Shining” sea.

The 1950s

According to legend, a Kraft Foods employee named Dan Walker invented the first caramel apple one day during the 1950s when he was trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of extra caramel candies. Good thinkin’, Dan!

The 1970s

Kraft Foods introduced “Wrapples” (with commercials featuring “Johnny Wrappleseed”). These were small slices of caramel that could be wrapped over apples to make quick-and-easy caramel apples at home.

Do you need reasons to love this day? Here are some:

1) Caramel apples are golden AND delicious

Apples are perfectly tasty on their own, of course. But the addition of a caramel coating turns the whole apple-eating experience into something extra yummy.

2) Golden, delicious caramel is Apple-friendly

There’s just something sweet and special about the way melted caramel coats the outside of a bright red apple. It’s like they were made for each other.

3) Caramel apples keep your hands clean

Caramel apples are delectable treats — and with the clever addition of a stick, you don’t have to go up your hands while you’re eating one, unless you want to, of course. Stick-less caramel apple-eaters unite!

Netflix’s Stranger Things Will Have Its 3rd Season Released In 2019, Here’s What We Know!

The fan is talking over here! I’m a huge fan of the “Stranger Things” series and this teaser, (revealing not-so-much) is still making all the ST fans go crazy! The show just unveiled all of its episodes titles for the next season and here’s what we know so far.

Check out the teaser here:

It’s time to decode these titles like Bob decoded Will’s map (May he rest in peace) and see what’s in stores for all our beloved residents of Hawkins. SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t want any insight into the show’s third season, or aren’t all the way caught, abandon hope all ye who enter! Don’t go any further.

1) Susie, Do You Copy?

Has someone new joined the group? Our guess is probably not, and that “Suzie” is Eleven’s code name over walkie-talkie or over radio with Hopper.

2) The Mall Rats

With a teaser featuring the new Starcourt Mall in Hawkins (along with a ton of hints that Russian spies may play a part of the third season), we think this title might allude to both of these things. In this way, the mall rats in question could be Dustin, Lucas, Max, Mike, Will and Eleven, just enjoying the mall. But then it could also mean rats… as in spies. As in Russian spies (albeit years before Robert Mueller can investigate them).

3) The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard

Fans have been talking about how Jaws might be an influence on the third season and this episode might just be it! Do you think there may be an aquatic version of Demogorgon? How cool would that be. Time will tell. We know that there will be a new character, a lifeguard of the community pool named Heather. If we had to guess, something tells us she might disappear at some point.

4) The Sauna Test

We now know, thanks to one incredibly acted possession sequence, that the Mind Flayer doesn’t like heat. Perhaps in order to make sure someone hasn’t been taken over by the biggest baddie of the Upside-Down, our Hawkins heroes perform a “sauna test” while grilling them. Not literally grilling them, just interrogating them. But also… maybe literally grilling them.

5) The Source

Source literally can be anything. It can be some source of information, source of intelligence for whatever’s happening or about to happen in the town. You can never tell!

6) The Birthday

This episode has to be Eleven’s birthday. This is what US fans want and let’s face it, Eleven deserves a celebration after all that she’s been through. We just hope Chief Hopper shows up on time with a massive supply of waffles.

7) The Bite

This literally could be anybody, but knowing his luck, this episode might as well be called: Something Bad Happens To Will Byers Again. All kidding aside, we hope whoever gets bit fares better with their injuries than Bob Newby. RIP Bob Newby, superhero. Theory we hope that isn’t true: it’s Chief Hopper that gets bit… since that pic surfaced a few months ago looking bloody and injured. Either way, we’re getting some major zombie vibes from this title.

8) The Battle Of Starcourt

With Stranger Things‘ first two seasons ending with huge showdowns in Hawkins’ middle school and Hawkins laboratory respectively, it makes sense to have an epic finale set piece happen at the mall.

Who can’t wait for ST to drop the trailer ASAP?! Tell us which is your favorite character from the show and why in the comment section below <3

Here Are 5 Reasons For You To Watch Aquaman This Weekend

Aquaman, that released TODAY in India, YES, we beat USA this time. Well keeping that aside, Jason Mamoa, combined with some insane action setpieces, make for convincing reasons to watch ‘Aquaman’. I guess that’s enough reason for you to convince your girl to watch this movie in theatre, but for your other friends, here are 5 reasons that will compel you to watch it right away this weekend!

1) Jason Mamoa

Our very own Khal Drogo, who slayed everyone with his dark intense look in GOT, is killing it in this avatar of AQUAMAN. The casting of Jason Momoa is inspired, giving us a hulking Arthur Curry that’s capable of visually standing toe to toe with any of the heroes in the Justice League. Not only is he massive, but he can pull off a cocky attitude that lines up with his character perfectly. He’s going to deliver a very believable Curry/Aquaman, and it’ll be great to watch him shatter the years of preconceptions that come with the character.

2) Atlantis

Atlantis is rich in mythology itself, not to mention the many stories Wan has to pull from the Aquaman comics. There’s so much potential to deliver some unique settings and situations set within the city and surrounding ocean that should give us some epic visuals and design.

3) Rewrites

In news, it was announced that Will Beall was re-hired after leaving the project’s script to Wan’s Conjuring 2 collaborator David Leslie Johnson. Johnson’s script has been “scrapped” and Beall wrote from a treatment written by Wan and the Co-Head of DC Films, Geoff Johns. Now, Beall doesn’t have that great of a track record, I’ll admit, and is responsible for films such as Gangster Squad and The Legend of Conan. So, is it good for the film? Yes, It’s good because it’s showing us that Wan is committed and passionate about this project. Amid some creative talent dropping away from the DCEU, he’s standing strong and not settling for any script that’s handed down the pipeline.

4) Aquaman’s more than what you think

Speaking of preconceptions, Aquaman has had a bad rep in the public eye for many, many years. Yes, he has a legion of dedicated fans, but there are legions more who just see him as a glorified Sea-World trainer. If you’re one of those people, lend your eyes to this panel below, where he just straight-up rocks Superman in the face.

5) JAMES WAN

Have you seen The Conjuring 2? It’s a masterpiece of horror filmmaking, and maybe filmmaking in general. Wan is one of the most talent directors working today. He has a unique eye for framing shots and moving the camera in creative ways that keep you on your toes while simultaneously getting the best out of his casts.

He spoke about Aquaman at this year’s comicon, here’s what he had to say:

“Fucking Aquaman! What can I say? Aquaman’s such an amazing character. I love the fact that he’s never really been portrayed in the feature movie world before…and the opportunity to explore this universe, you know, bring a bit of my horror element into this. The deep sea is a scary world. And then also explore the wondrous world of Atlantis. That’s all I have to say.”

Who wouldn’t wanna see Aquaman now?!

A Look Back At The Most Viral Moments Of 2018

The year’s about to end and 2018 was filled with a lot of interesting stuff. From celebrity marriages to people going gaga over tide pods. OKAY it’s safe to say it was a pretty weird year too. Everything that happened somewhere in the world became a part of everyone’s life, cause THE INTERNET. Everything you do everyday, every story is an internet story now! Memes travel fasters than a rocket, am I right?

So, let’s have a flashback and reminisce on our mistakes of 2018, and when I say mistakes, let’s start with LOGAN PAUL!

1) Logan Paul And The Suicide Forest

It was New Year’s Eve of 2017, when Logan Paul (Youtuber) uploaded the V-log of him and a group of people exploring Aokigahara, the suicide forest in Japan, where he filmed a dead body! YouTube ultimately removed the video, broke off its production deals with Paul, and stripped him of the ability to earn revenue from their advertising tools reserved for top influencers. He was widely criticized as it was seen him and his gang laughing around while they filmed the dead body who had committed suicide in the forest. Paul then took a break from YouTube but was scorned when he tried to return to the site less than a month later.

2) Teens Tide Pods

This has got to be the most WEIRDEST and most DISGUSTING of trend that followed in 2018. In January, the Tide Pod Challenge swept through YouTube and Instagram, with teens trying to top each other by seeing if they could swallow the candy-colored laundry detergent. It became serious enough that the American Association of Poison Control Centers issued an alert warning people not to do it.

3) The Yodeling Boy

The purest viral celebrity this year, without a doubt, is Mason Ramsey. At the mere age of 10, he went viral for yodeling really well in a Walmart, and later made it to “Ellen” and Coachella. What more could you want from the internet?

4) Yanny Vs Laurel

Finally we’ve cracked it and it is LAUREL. Also, the dress is black and blue. Ok bye.

5) The epic fail

One of the hardest things for an internet celebrity to do is translate their fame into IRL experiences. It takes more than just fame to gather people around but more importantly to pull off an event. But the YouTube influencer community is filled with obscure power structures, slights, and feuds. Influencer Tana Mongeau didn’t like the YouTube community’s main fan conference, VidCon, so she founded TanaCon, for herself. Hosted in June, the event was a disaster. Thousands more people than expected showed up, headliners skipped town, and Mongeau didn’t have the resources to fix it. The event was widely compared to the infamous Fyre Festival, and Mongeau shut the whole thing down by its second day.

6) The oddly satisfying videos of soap cutting

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos are meant to invoke a sense of pleasure for people who listen to them. For some, soap-cutting offers a visual version of ASMR’s pleasures. By October, videos of people slicing soap into neat patterns had made its mark on Instagram and Twitter. For those not on the soap beat (or box), slime videos may appeal.

7) Doppelganger

Google Arts & Culture launched a feature on its virtual museum app that matches selfies with paintings in museums all over the world — and the internet was excited about it. People posted their results all over social media, showing off their lookalikes. At times, their doppelgängers were scarily accurate, and other times they were laughable.

8) Another optical illusion challenge

In May, a photo of two people hugging was posted on Twitter. At first glance, it looks like a man is bent over, hugging a woman who is sitting down at her desk. But the closer you examine the picture, the stranger it gets. It starts to appear as if the man is wearing white skinny jeans and black heels, and the internet became divided on who is actually wearing the heels. Eventually, people explained and demonstrated how the girl is actually the one bending over and hugging the man sitting at his desk.

9) The Royal Meme Wedding

When Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in London in May, the entire world was watching, especially the internet. There were quite a few meme-able moments from the wedding that have gone viral.

10) High Elon Musk

It’s been a tumultuous year for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, but the mainstream internet caught wind of his antics in October when he was filmed smoking weed during an interview with comedian Joe Rogan. Shortly after, Musk tweeted, “Send me ur dankest memes” and suddenly the internet was flooded with hilarious memes of Musk getting high.

Did we miss anything more absurd or interesting? Tell us about it in the comment section below 😀