Supermodel, Athlete, Entrepreneur and Actor Milind Soman’s fascinating memoir Made in India will make its Mumbai debut at The Royal Opera House, Mumbai with a comedy roast of the book by Comedian Cyrus Broacha. Join us to celebrate this remarkable icon’s important milestone, learn about his defining life experiences and understand what makes him tick! 

Where: Royal Opera House, Mama Parmanand Marg, Mumbai – 400 004 

When:  Thursday, 5th March 2020 | 7:30 PM

***Prior registration required | Entry granted only on purchase of the book at the venue (₹499/-)***

About the Author 

In his rather full life, supermodel Milind Soman has worn many seemingly disparate hats, but the one common thread through them all has been his commitment to physical fitness. In the last several years, he has become an avid advocate of, and a role model for, a more holistic kind of fitness, one that incorporates mind, body and spirit. Through personal achievements like completing the Ironman and Ultraman challenges after turning fifty, and as the force behind breakthrough ideas like the Pinkathon movement and the Barefoot Marathon, Milind encourages women-and others-to take charge of their health, get back in touch with nature and believe in themselves. 

About the Comedian 

Cyrus Broacha has been the face of MTV India for several years. He is also a stand-up comedian and prankster. Best known for his show Bakra on MTV, he has interviewed almost everyone in the Hindi film industry, from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. Cyrus presently anchors a news satire show, The Week That Wasn't on CNN-IBN, co-written and directed by friend Kunal Vijayakar. Cyrus has acted in many commercials, television serials and plays. He also hosted shows and corporate events, while pursuing his passion of theatre with several commercial theatre productions. 

About Partners  

Penguin Random House India is the largest English language trade publisher. The company publishes over 250 new titles every year and has an active backlist of 3000 titles. With a strong fiction and nonfiction list, we publish across every segment including biography, travel, business, politics, history, religion and philosophy, lifestyle, cookery, health and fitness, sports and leisure, visual books and children’s books. The children’s titles are published the Puffin and Ladybird imprints. We also publish Disney India’s iconic Mickey and Friends characters and five classic characters- Aladdin, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Dumbo and the cast of The Jungle Book- under the Puffin imprint in India. Our illustrious author list includes three Booker Prize winning novels (The God of Small Things, The Inheritance of Loss and Life of Pi) and virtually every major literary prize, including the Nobel Prize, the Magsaysay Award, the Jnanpith Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Several of our authors are also recipients of the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian honours. Penguin Random House India has a co-publishing partnership with Majul Publishing House for local language translations across adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction titles that are available in Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. Further, we are also the exclusive distribution partners for some of the leading publishing houses – Faber, Granta, Short Books, Atlantic Books UK, Canongate, Ingram Publishing Services, Pushkin, Sterling US, Egmont, Walker Books, Icon, FW Media, Guinness, Hay House, Wiley Business India, Zubaan, Black Ink and Fun OK Please – in India.   

Royal Opera House, Mumbai is widely touted as Mumbai’s Cultural Crown Jewel and India’s only surviving Opera House. The original idea for the space was conceived of in 1908, inaugurated in 1911 by King George V, and eventually completed in 1916. The design incorporated a blend of European and Indian detailing. The space became a cinema in later years before falling into disrepair and shutting by the 1990s. Fittingly, the space has been owned by the Royal Family of Gondal since 1952 and was eventually restored by conservation architect, Abha Narain Lambah under the leadership of His Highness, Maharaja Shri Jyotendrasinhji of Gondal. The Royal Opera House Mumbai, now one of the last remaining Baroque structures in the city, reopened after 23 years in October 2016. The building was included on the 2012 World Monuments Watch to raise awareness about its history and significance, and support preservation efforts. The building has since been recognized with an Award of Merit in the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The restored facilities feature a 575-seater 3-level auditorium with an orchestra pit and state of the art technological upgradations, including acoustics, stagecraft, lighting and air-conditioning, alongside retaining the old-world charm of the proscenium stage, the royal boxes and the magnificent regal chandeliers. Some more enhancements to the venue include a motorized screen, co-axial ceiling speaker system, Four-zone volume control and all round wifi access. Today, it stands as a key performance and creative hub in the city’s cultural landscape, while being a premier heritage landmark. 

Facebook: MumbaiOpera | Twitter: @MumbaiOpera | Instagram: @mumbaiopera 

Avid Learning, the cultural philanthropy arm of the Essar Group founded in 2009 has, over the past decade, grown into one of Mumbai’s leading public programming platforms and is firmly entrenched in the country’s wider cultural ecosystem. Over the years, AVID has gained a reputation for curating thought provoking, innovative and path-breaking content that is intellectually and creatively stimulating and engages with a variety of topical subjects and trends. Our thoughtfully curated and diverse events embrace the spirit of collaboration to bring together the best of Indian and international writers, artists, intellectuals, cultural experts, policymakers and industry leaders across Visual Art, Literature, Culture and Heritage, Education, Design & Technology and the Performing Arts through engaging and dynamic formats like panel discussions, workshops & master classes, roundtables, lecture demonstrations, festival platforms, symposiums & conferences, multidisciplinary performances and walkthroughs. We seek to democratize the arts, create new audiences, and deepen engagement by providing a platform that gives equal access and opportunity to new learners, fresh voices and nascent minds in order to nurture future stakeholders for the creative community in India. To date, AVID has conducted over 1150 programs and connected with more than 140,000 individuals, a widely eclectic group of life-long learners including students, patrons, practitioners, influencers, thought leaders and cultural & creative enthusiasts in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Goa and Gujarat. We have also made our mark internationally, with events and collaborations in Dubai and New York. We regularly collaborate and partner with institutions, organisations and initiatives like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), one of the apex bodies that impact cultural policy and the creative sector as a whole. We have been at the helm of programming at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai India’s only surviving Opera House since its reopening in 2016. We believe in the importance of arts for social change and we regularly offer our support and platforms for Social Advocacy. Thanks to a dedicated and innovative team, as well as a growing and evolving community of learners, AVID continues to give truth to the belief that Learning Never Stops! To keep updated and attend our events, like us on https://www.facebook.com/avidlearning/, follow us on https://twitter.com/AvidLearning and Instagram: @avidlearning or log onto http://www.avidlearning.in