Pick your favourites

Sandeep Mohan

Favourite film: The Man Who Loved Women My movie recommendation is a François Truffaut movie from 1977. It is called The Man Who Loved Women starring Charles Denner. I saw this movie on a DVD sometime in 2005 and felt bad about not watching it sooner. I loved the movie for its tone. The film uses subtle humour to tell the story of a perpetual skirt chaser and his inner struggles. The film is treated in such a brilliant manner that it becomes a wonderful character study of men. I feel the film is timeless and I can still watch it without getting tired. Sandeep is a director and writer

Ruhi Singh Favourite show: Impractical Jokers Impractical Jokers is one show that has been consistently hilarious. It’s about these four lifelong friends who play pranks and compete to embarrass each other. I love the freshness that the show has to offer. The situation is real, and the concept is very interesting. What’s great is that there’s not been a single boring episode, and watching this show makes you forget all about real life and takes you on a roller coaster ride full of laughter and pranks. Ruhi is an actress and model

Ajay Chopra Favourite restaurant: Yauatcha, Mumbai My favourite place to eat at any time of the day is Yauatcha in Mumbai. I normally enjoy the dimsum fare there, and one dish I would recommend is the crispy shrimp cheung fung, a Cantonese styled rice noodle roll. We end up visiting the restaurant at least twice a month. Those who aren’t into dimsums can try the BBQ chicken bao, flaky BBQ chicken dimsum and charcoal bao.

One exciting meal however, was at the Brighton Pier in the UK. We caught fresh seafood, which included squid and fresh sea bass and marinated them on the beach. Ajay Chopra is a chef

Choiti Ghosh Favourite play: La Pire Espece There is this show held by the Canadian Co called La Pire Espece. I last saw their presentation, Villes Collection Particuliere, (Cities: Privatec Collection). A solo performer explores the symbolic values of the objects to create an unusual gallery of imaginary cities. It has a French narrative, but it doesn’t matter since the focus is on the objects. I vividly remember that they made cities out of popcorn and there was another scene where the team used metal shavings and magnet to present the aerial view of rainforests. The result is surreal. I would recommend everyone to watch it. Choiti Ghosh is an object theatre practitioner

Antara Mitra Favourite album: Life In A... Metro Though it is very tough to pick one favourite album but if I had to, it would be songs from the film Life In A... Metro. I think it was the first time that soft rock was used as a genre in a film. The composition for each song was different and new for that time. The songs, Alvida, Baatein Kuch Ankahein Si and Oh Meri Jaan are still my favourites. Antara is a vocalist

Sorabh Pant Favourite book: Autobiography of a Yogi by Parmahansa Yogananda Currently, the only reading I’m doing is bills for my baby! But the one book I recommend is Autobiography of a Yogi by Parmahansa Yogananda. I thought it was fascinating when I read it as a 22-year-old. It’s a combination of the science and philosophy of religion, an almost fantastical journey into the world of yogis and just a celebration of the tolerance of all religions. Even though it’s written by a Hindu yogi, it sought to tie in Christianity and Hinduism as well as Islam — parts of which were fascinating and inspiring. Some super books I read over the last year include World Without End, The Psychopath Test and very belatedly, Foundation. Sorabh is a stand up comedian and author