Club starring films, farsan set for century

SURAT: When they watch Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Khubsoorat' on Sunday, a group of Surat's film enthusiasts is all set to score a century of Bollywood classics.
Way back in 2007, over a Sunday breakfast of sev-khaman and petis, a group of Surat's senior citizens had formed 'Vintage Veterans', pondering over the fact that original Surti cuisine had vanished from wedding menus.
"Seven of us had got together that Sunday and discussed how shifting sheris out of the Walled City into suburban societies had made life lonely and lacklustre. That is when we decided to start a movie club to watch old classics and follow it by an authentic Surti meal," says Rohit Marfatia, a senior member of the club.
After watching 'Khoobsurat', the club's 137 members will have a lavish spread of sarasiya khaja, vedmi (puranpoli), patra, stuffed aubergines and potatoes, stuffed lady's fingers, dahi wada, Surti kadhi and rice, with malai kulfi for dessert.
Marfatia was joined by like-minded locals like Indrajit Sheth, Rajesh Shah, Gautam Kaji, Rajan Khansaheb and Suresh Desai to form the club.
The screening is held at Window Hall of Kapadia Health Club.
The club has been meeting religiously on the first Sunday of every month at 10am since September 2, 2007/ They have watched classics from 1949 Dilip Kumar-Raj Kapoor starrer Andaz to Naya Daur, Parichay, Padosan, Uphaar, Umrao Jaan, Golmaal, Guddi, Baiju Bawra, Bawarchi, Bobby to Sagar. A tea break is followed by lunch by the pool deck with an entire spread of authentic Surti cuisine.
While all members are either 60 or above, the most eager young tarang is Surat's 92-year-old celebrity Krushnakant Bhukhanwala, better known as KK. On behalf of the entire Bollywood, he had lit the inaugural lamp and will do so once again this Sunday.
The club's motto, 'Film, Fellowship and Food', is quite thoughtful. "Films are the liveliest art and one of the world's most influential mediums, fellowship is a missing factor in today's lifestyle and food! Surat nu jaman is an excellent concept for Gujarati gourmets," says KK.
Dedicated filmographer Harish Raghuvanshi says, "Each film showcased by the Vintage Veterans is not only a classic but also has had outstanding sound and picture quality of print. The members not only discuss details of every film but also get special audio CDs created that have all the songs of the movies they have watched."