The passion for my little darling venture only led to double the hard work, sleepless nights, long hours at work (but that's the fun part) and of course, watching it grow - one baby step at a time. Of course, we all know how it started as a simple blog and well, that part wasn't as difficult as the next twist. Turning a personal blog into a full fledged professional website came with it's own set of hurdles. In fact, a whole lot of them. But c'mon, who said the road to seeing your venture do well was gonna be easy? Clearly, there is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs, go through the process of hardships, rough times and struggle, only to rise like a phoenix. Well, I still believe I am a work in process, and as I speak, we are continuously working to ensure the Dancebee's virtual world keeps on growing. But, patience is a key element of success. You certainly cannot expect things to take a turn overnight.

Looking back at our journey so far, I feel overwhelmed and blessed. There have been so many people who had our back and supported me at every step. Of course, it all started with the kind blessings and support of the almighty god and my wonderful parents. They encouraged me to take risks and follow my heart. And no, by blessings, I don't mean 'funding'. Those who come from simple, middle class homes will agree that there ain't no overnight financial funding and stardom for bright, young 'aam millenial' entrepreneurs. You gotta build your own empire and go through the grind of ups and downs. It was through my early use of social media that I learned I wasn't alone. Many other young women entrepreneurs across the globe faced similar struggles and emerged victorious. A big thank you to all those female role models who empowered girls my age and encouraged us to dream big.

Here's a shoutout to all our readers, followers, well wishers and supporters. The ones whose thoughtful messages and constant reminders of "We've got your back" encouraged us to challenge ourselves and go the extra mile. The ones who became a part of our HUGE digital family. The ones who stood by us and our work, come storm or sunshine. This anniversary month, we celebrate the spirit of our most beloved supporters - YOU. Here's to the journey so far, and a promise - To keep chasing dreams, follow our heart, stick to our ethics, raise the bar and keep working hard to take our baby venture a notch higher in the super cool new year ahead. Thank you for all the love!

And of course, this gratitude note would be incomplete without a special mention.  This one's for my wonderful team. Heartfelt gratitude to each and every member of the team, who have been an integral part of this beautiful journey. After all, team work makes dreamwork!


Love,
The Dancebee

Elephanta Caves

Distance: Approximately One hour (by ferry from Gateway of India) 

Ferry timings: 9 am to 2 pm (departure), 12 pm to 5:30 pm (return) There is a ferry every 30 minutes for both departure and return 

Best time to visit: November to March 

Rajmachi Fort

Distance: Approximately 99 kms (upto Udhewadi village) 

Travel Options: By road - Private car, Buses /

By train - Get down at Lonavala station and then, take a bus / cab to Udhewadi, which is approximately 20 kms away 

Best time to visit: June to September / November to February 

Raigad Fort

Distance: Approximately 120 - 150 kms 

Travel Options: By road - Private car / bus via Mumbai - Goa highway (NH 66)

By train - As Raigad does not have a station, the nearest ones are Veer (40kms) and Mangaon (50kms). Cabs for Raigad base are available outside these stations. 

Best time to visit: November to March 

Igatpuri

Distance: Approximately 100 kms 

Travel Options: By road - Private car / bus via Mumbai - Nashik expressway

By train - Several trains stop at Igatpuri station. One can also choose choose to get down at the Kasara station (in case you are travelling by the CST - Kasara local), from where one can opt for private car / cab to reach Igatpuri, which is around 30 - 40 mins away 

Best time to visit: October to February 

Murud - Janjira

Distance: Approximately 150 kms 

Travel Options: By road - Private car / State transport buses

By train - Get down at Nagothane and then cab / bus to Murud Janjira (50 kms)

By waterways - Mumbai to Alibaug (ferry) and then, cab / bus to Murud Janjira (50 kms) 

After tasting box office success with Baaghi earlier this year, Shraddha Kapoor is back to win hearts. This time, she will be seen in the sequel to the 2008 musical drama - Rock On 2. What's interesting is that the actress has also sung all the songs filmed on her. While we are loving her look in the film, we like how Shraddha has kept her style game strong off screen too. Her stylist, Sanam Ratansi, has put together some great outfits for Shraddha, has she attends one promotional event after another. We take a look at some of the outfits sported by the actress.

Promotions in Shillong

You've read all about our first day at the festival in an earlier post. After a mad rush at the bookings, we finally managed to secure seats for our favourite picks during the weekend. Of course, we knew it wasn't gonna be easy and had to let go of some films, due to unavailability. Weekend at the cinemas saw a huge crowd. People were literally seen camping out and queuing up hours before the screening, just to ensure they catch up with their favourite film. Here's a round up of our weekend watch at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016.

Day 2 kickstarted with the most dark, unsettling, psychological-horror film, The Neon Demon. Certain visuals in the film were nicely crafted, but as the story progressed, it somehow made the breakfast (morning show, remember) churn in your tummy. After wrapping up some commitments in between, we got back to the cinemas to end our day with a fun, satirical Saudi Arabian film, Barakah meets Barakah. The theatre was packed, with people rushing to grab a preferred seat, and later, even sitting in the front row seats, to enjoy the film. Barakah meets Barakah was an irony of how the moral police in Saudi Arabia, and the whole society at large, is caged and deprived of freedom of expression, art and love.

When it's the MAMI week, even a Sunday is packed with schedules and day filled with other work commitments. For us, Day 3 was full of experimental cinema. We started off with the much anticipated French-German-Belgian psychological thriller - Elle. While the film had an interesting plot, it unfortunately could not hold our attention for long. Our afternoon pick certainly set the tone right. Swiss Army Man received a thunderous applause from the audience. The chemistry between the lead actors, Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe was spectacular, making the audience fall in love with their world. Our Sunday ended with Madly, a global anthology film with six stories of modern love. However, we personally felt it was full of loose ends and random stories. Definitely not worth the hype.

It's Day 4 at the cinema and we look forward to watching some good films. It also marks the premiere of 'Marathi Talkies', where four beautiful Marathi films will be showcased. Watch this space to know more about our day at the cinemas.

Follow us on Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat for more details. Join the conversation with hashtag #DancebeeatMAMI

Regulars at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 know that once the festival kickstarts, life is never the same again for an entire week. A typical MAMI delegate's day starts as early 8 am, schedule in one hand and maybe, coffee in another. bookmyshow becomes a permanent bookmark on your desktop, as you log on to book a seat for your 'must watch' shows, scheduled for the next day (good ol' advance booking). All this, while secretly praying for availability. Of course, rest of the day is spent hopping from one screening (and cinema hall) to another, enjoying the magic of world cinema. For those familiar with the routine, these words may have made you smile. And we are quite sure, Day 01 was similar for most of you. Well, here's what it looked like for Team Dancebee.

For us, the day began with a lot of chaos. Technical errors delayed bookings for shows scheduled on Oct 22. However, 15 minutes later, things got normal. By 8:45 am, most shows were full. However, we were assured of 20% reservation for on-ground bookings at the venue, apart from the general queue. This, of course, came as a huge sight of relief to us. We packed our bags and head out to attend our respective commitments for the day. While Priya chose PVR Phoenix, Team Dancebee's Rasika picked PVR ECX. 

While we thought our worries were restricted to just the technical errors, there was more. At ECX, confusion led to chaos at most screenings. Delegates in the general line had to make do with front row seats only. There were arguments and hassles almost before every screening. It was like watching a film outside the audi. However, the situation at Phoenix was completely the opposite. Most afternoon screenings were empty, and the entire on-ground booking process was quite smooth. There was no chaos or argument of any sort. Cinephiles were spotted enjoying a chat or hot cuppa at the nearby Starbucks outlet, in between shows. Nobody rushed ahead of others, and the atmosphere was great.

While Priya had to miss her first screening for the day - I Called Him Morgan, due to unavoidable reasons, she caught up with Keith Mainland's documentary Tower, based on the University of Texas shootings in 1966. The film is a mix of rotoscopic animation and archival footage, which is predominately used to depict the series of events. It also includes interviews, including that of the witnesses, police among others. Pankaj Johar's Cecilia followed next, a documentary based on the crisis and confusion faced by Johar's house help Cecilia Hasda, after her daughter goes missing and becomes a victim of child trafficking. The film perfectly explores the poignant journey of Cecilia, the vicious circle of child trafficking and the ugly twists and turns that one has to face, in order to achieve justice in this country. Truly, an eye opener!

For Rasika, the two films she watched on Day 1 revolved around strong and distinct characters. The story was like a background theme, and the characters stood out extensively. Certain Women explores a handful of intersecting lives and focuses on three women, who led a normal life, and are creating their own path in life, while living in a small town. Next, the German film - Wild, made the audience go speechless. The female protagonist (Lilith Stangenberg) took her performance to another level of wildness.

As the day came to an end, we got back to work and life, all ready to set our alarms for another early morning (and some mad rush for Sunday show bookings). In addition, we are looking forward to the much awaited Movie Mela, a two-day film extravaganza that has some fun sessions in store. 

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Snapchat | Instagram for live updates from the event or join the conversation with the hashtag #DancebeeatMAMI!

Text by: Priya Adivarekar, Rasika Pote

Compiled by: Priya Adivarekar

Yesterday, we listed five international films that top our must watch list at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 with Star, which starts tomorrow. In part two and final post of our special series for international cinema at the fest, we discuss five more films, that you should not miss for anything. Read on, and take notes!

I, Daniel Blake - UK
Director: Ken Loach
Winner of Palme d’Or and the Prix du Public winner at Locarno this year. 80-year-old British filmmaker Ken Loach’s latest populist masterpiece made him only the ninth director to win the Cannes award twice (after ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ in 2006). This emphatic drama is about a disabled man, strangled by the red tape of the benefits system.

First Screening: Day 02, Regal Cinema, 5:40 pm

Neruda - Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Neruda is the story of an inspector, who hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, and becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party. The film had its World Premiere at Cannes, followed by much talked about screenings at Telluride, Toronto and New York, making it one of the highlights at MAMI this year.

First Screening: Day 01, PVR Icon (Audi 3), 12:30 pm

Sand Storm - Israel
Director: Elite Zexer
Elite Zexer’s Sand Storm is a story based in Southern Israel. The film is about a teen's forbidden love affair, that challenges the traditions of her Bedouin mother and father. The film won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, earlier this year. 

First Screening: PVR Mulund (Audi 1), 2:45 pm 

The Red Turtle - France

Director: Michael Dudok de
This beautiful French-Belgian-Japanese animated film created a lot of buzz at the Cannes this year by winning the Un Certain Regard special prize. It is a co-production between Wild Bunch and Studio Ghibli. This film tells the story of a man, who tries to escape from a deserted island and battles a giant turtle. What's interesting is that the film has no dialogue, and is a hot favourite among film buffs at the fest this year.

First Screening: PVR Icon, (Audi 3), 10:30 am

Elle
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Isabelle Huppert delivers a standout performance as a woman turning the tables on her attacker, in the controversial director’s electrifying and provocative comeback. The film is official entry for the Oscars this year, from France.

First Screening: PVR ECX (Audi 2), 10am

The 18th edition of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is just a few hours away. Follow us, as Team Dancebee gives you the best of Mumbai's most loved film festival. Don't miss live updates, exciting buzz and more, all week long on our Twitter | Snapchat | Facebook and Instagram page. Add #DancebeeatMAMI to join the conversation.

Shahid Kapoor's personal style is all about athleisure. It is unique, relaxed and casual. The kind of athleisure we love, with the perfect 'chilled out' vibe. Honestly, we have always dreamed of Sasha launching his own clothing line, and why not? He is the perfect ambassador for athleisure in India, with a wardrobe filled with hoodies, tees, joggers and some seriously cray kicks. Guess, abof heard us (and many of SK's shantics), as the e-commerce brand announced the launch of India’s first athleisure fashion brand, SKULT, exclusively on its portal earlier today. 

This brand has been launched in partnership with Shahid, who, according to the brand, has built an iconic reputation amongst India’s youth through movies such as Udta Punjab, Haider, and Jab We Met. SKULT, built on the principle of ‘Fashion meets functionality' and 'Design meets Innovation’, is an evolved style of athleisure which draws inspiration from all around the world, but is perfectly adapted for Indian sensibilities and body types.

Now, we all know that athleisure is a huge trend globally. Athleisure clothing is designed to withstand vigorous routines, yet they are trendy enough to be worn everywhere. Identifying the void in Indian wardrobes and taking the idea of athleisure forward, abof.com has taken this street-wear hybrid trend to next level with the launch of SKULT, which actually stands for Shahid + Cult. SKULT’s athleisure collection is unconventional, yet easy to carry and more importantly, reminds the consumer something about Shahid’s personality in each of its piece. “Shahid is a youth icon who is admired for his style. We are extremely excited to partner with him in creating India’s first athleisure fashion brand which combines the actor’s love for ‘fun and comfortable’ dressing," stated Kedar Apshankar, Deputy CEO, abof.com.

A video posted by Diary of a Dancebee (@priyaadivarekar) on Oct 18, 2016 at 7:42am PDT

Follow us on Instagram and watch Shahid Kapoor talk about SKULT

The atypical ‘Athleisure’ collection by Skult has been designed in-house by abof and has taken more than a year to work on this brand and its products. Commenting on his idea of SKULT, Shahid said, “Skult is about free styling, fashion and functionality. Skult is all about being yourself, wherever you are. It's about apparel that's an extension of your body. That allows you to express yourself with no restrictions or rules. Sometimes clothes that are cool, just feel too restricting. This line sets you free. Own style. Don't let style restrict you.”

SKULT is crafted to suit all occasions - work, casual or social. During our exclusive sneak peek at the collection, we noticed that it has a strong emphasis on black, grey, nude and monochromatic tones. The offbeat, yet trendy brand has a wide variety of merchandise for men in its launch season with over 250 options, which includes internationally trending categories like meggings and shackets. Apart from bringing these new categories in India, even the regular categories have intricate detailing - like thumb holes, drop shoulder jackets, scoop hem tees, long line tees with drawcord - which makes the collection really stand out. SKULT has used high-performance yet very lightweight fabrics - cotton viscose, slub jersey, grindles, melanges, snow heather, terry, lycra denim, cotton satin, and popcorn knit – with the single-minded objective to make it super comfortable. The line also consists of 50 key pieces under ‘SKULT SIGNATURE’ where each piece has been crafted by Shahid himself. Well, we will have one of each item, please!

SKULT by Shahid Kapoor is now available at http://www.abof.com/men/SKULT

What do you have to say about the collection? Join the conversation on Twitter with #DancebeeXSkult! Don't forget to follow us on Snapchat | Instagram for exclusive updates from the event and glimpse of the collection. 

From the opening scene of the film till the climax, Bengali film director Aniruddha Roy Chaudhary’s debut hindi social thriller - Pink, which hits the screens tomorrow, will keep you hooked on to your seat. The film, produced by Shoojit Sircar, speaks about an important and relevant issue in our society. The message in this film is conveyed and presented with an impact, which will remain with you for a long time, even after you leave the cinema hall. There are many films made on social issues concerning women, but the courtroom drama in Pink makes it outstanding an outstanding cinematic experience.

The story revolves around three girls who get trapped into a situation with the rich brats compelling them to fight a battle for their dignity as women. Casting of the film is bang on. Tapsee Pannu (as Minal), Kirti Kulhari (as Falak) and Andrea Tariang’s (as Andrea) stellar performances will make you feel connected to their characters throughout the film.  Of course, the film is incomplete without Amitabh Bachchan, as he is the soul and heart of Pink.  He is the mystery piece in the first half, who weaves the film together in the end with his closing statement. Pink churns you emotionally - making you feel scared, angry, sympathetic, helpless and finally, victorious. 

Pace of the film is slightly slow, while the story has an unsettling mood throughout. There are very few dialogues in the first half, which keeps the curiosity intact as to what has really gone wrong in the film. A special mention for the costumes, that helped add a layer to the characters. In the second half of the film, when the main female characters are interrogated in the witness box, they have been dressed in light pastel colors, thus making a strong point of the characters being suppressed. Ritesh Shah's screenplay and dialogues form the backbone of this film, making it gripping. The film highlights some of the screwed notions in our Indian society surrounding women and men, making it an eye opener, especially when it comes to women safety.  

Whether you decide to watch Pink alone, with friends, family or neighbours; we simply suggest that you watch it at least once! Highly recommended.  

Verdict: Pink is a must watch! And remember, don’t judge the colour by its appearance. 

Share your feedback on the film with us by leaving a comment below or join the conversation on Twitter!