For Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth, marriage is as much about the little things as it is about the big romantic moments. Whether it is the comfort of returning home to each other after a long day or finding joy in the most mundane moments, the actors seem to have found a rhythm that works for them. The couple, who tied the knot in 2024, say they continue to make time for each other despite their demanding professional commitments. They believe this comes down to mutual understanding, careful planning and respecting each other’s individuality.

Siddharth describes Aditi as someone who brings both kindness and a healthy dose of honesty to their relationship.

“Aditi is a very giving partner. She’s also caring and kind. At the same time, she’s a taskmaster because she teaches me every day how many different ways I can be a better person. We really enjoy coming back home to each other at the end of the day, and that’s one of the most reassuring feelings for me as an individual,” he says.

For Aditi, it is Siddharth’s ability to be present and bring a sense of playfulness to everyday life that makes their bond special.

“Siddharth is always very present. He listens, he is sensitive, and there is a lightness and playfulness that he brings to even the most mundane moments. We are similar in our intentions and soul energy, but we have our own ways of doing things and our different rhythms also have a synchronicity that is as thrilling as it is comforting,” she says, adding, “Siddharth’s priorities are very clear and he is expressive with his love and support. Whether on set or off it, the feeling of love and butterflies is a constant.”

With both actors committed to their respective careers, balancing work and personal life requires conscious effort. While marriage has not changed Siddharth’s approach to work, it has influenced how he plans his life beyond it.

“I approach work the way I’ve taught myself to approach work, and that’s something I’ve been doing for more than half of my life. I don’t think that will change post-marriage. But it helps you plan the life that you want to live outside of work. And then you have a person that you chose for the reasons of both companionship and living life to the fullest. So that’s definitely a change now,” he says.

The actress who recently shot for Indriya's festive campaign with Siddharth believes that respecting each other’s professional choices is key to making their partnership work. "We have always respected each other’s individual ambitions, choices and careers, and that will always be. Our schedules can be hectic, so there is a lot of planning around travel, work and time apart. It takes effort to make things feel effortless, and to value, prioritize and respect each other’s perspective,” she says.

And while adulting is part of the deal, the couple is in no hurry to leave behind their playful side. “We have to at times take turns to adult, because never grow up is our most natural way of being!” she adds.

Actor-director Konkona Sen Sharma is stepping into long-format storytelling with her first web series, describing the experience as significantly more demanding than filmmaking. “It takes a lot to direct a web series. The scale is large, it’s like making three films,” she says.

The series, Welcome To Khoya Mahal, co-directed with Jaydeep Sarkar, is set in South Delhi and stars Aditi Rao Hydari and Barun Sobti. Konkona, who has previously directed A Death In The Gunj and acted in series such as Mumbai Diaries 26/11 and Killer Soup, shares that the project required extended schedules and time away from home.

“It’s a lot of work and I had to be away from home for a long time. But I loved working with both Barun and Aditi. They’re complete sweethearts and my new favourite people.”

Away from work, Konkona was recently seen at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium with ex husband Ranvir Shorey and their son Haroon, attending an Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. Ranvir later shared a selfie from the outing on Instagram, captioning his joy over Mumbai Indians’ win. The moment drew praise for their “cool co-parenting”.

Ask Konkona about that and she says, “I wanted Haroon to have that experience of watching a match at the stadium. Haroon likes to watch cricket and I enjoy a match once in a while too. He also enjoys football.”

Even after years of complex performances, Pankaj Tripathi speaks about his work with a simplicity that feels almost old-fashioned. When he talks about his next film, Parivarik Manoranjan, you can sense a quiet pride in his voice. “It’s a very beautiful story,” he says, smiling. “It’s not a big drama, there are no loud twists. It’s like slow cooking. You’ll like those small moments that stay with you even after the film ends.”

The film brings him closer to an unexpected co-actor, Aditi Rao Hydari. He says it has been a joy, especially since they come from two different worlds. “Aditi is sincere and hardworking. I saw one of her scenes and was genuinely surprised by how beautiful it was — so natural, so effortless. It’s always nice when a co-actor makes you feel that way.”

The film, produced by Ali Abbas Zafar and written by Vijay Kala and Varun V Sharma, who is also directing it, takes Tripathi back to the rhythm of the everyday. “It reminded me of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s brand of cinema — small, human stories about life as it is. Parivarik Manoranjan is like that. It’s just honest.”

Tripathi’s affection for this kind of cinema stems from both nostalgia and conviction. He believes the “feel-good” genre — which thrived through the 1970s and ’80s — needs revival, not out of sentimentality but necessity.

“We’ve made a very unilineal definition of cinema and art. Somewhere, we’ve started believing that only serious, intense stories are real cinema. But that’s not true. Cinema is also about filling the void in your life — that small emptiness that laughter, warmth, or a quiet moment can fill.”

He says he found a similar emotional range in films like Metro...In Dino, which he calls “a slice-of-life picture with repeat value.” According to him, such films can be watched again, and viewers will always find something new. “That’s the beauty of slow and calm storytelling — it grows with you.”

Unlike the morally ambiguous worlds of Mirzapur and Criminal Justice, he adds, “You binge it once, you discuss it, and you move on. It’s thrilling — but it doesn’t call you back again and again. Parivarik Manoranjan is the kind of film you want to sit with again — maybe on a rainy day or a quiet Sunday. It gives you peace.”

Even as he prepares to return to the chaotic worlds of Mirzapur and Criminal Justice 5, there’s a glow on his face when he speaks about Parivarik Manoranjan. “There’s entertainment in silence too. You just need to look for it,” he says.

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari received rave reviews for her performance in Heeramandi (2024). In fact, her gaja gamini walk went viral on social media. However, the actor says that all the limelight did not translate to exciting acting offers.

“After Heeramandi, the way everybody went on and on and how it was loved, I thought I would have a bauchaar of interesting stuff, [but that never happened]... I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was really like a drought,” she told filmmaker Farah Khan Kunder on her YouTube show.

A surprised Farah asked: “Really? Tabhi tune shaadi kar li?” Aditi, who got married to actor Siddharth in an intimate ceremony in September last year, giggled and said, “Actually! We had to space it out so that we could get back from work, get married and then get back to work.”

On Monday, September 16, actors Aditi Rao Hydari, 37, and Siddharth, 45, gave a sweet surprise to their fans as they dropped their wedding pictures on social media. The couple looked lost in love in the ethereal setting of the ceremony that took place in a 400-year-old temple in Wanaparthy, Telangana. Now, the newlyweds have spilled the beans about each other’s quirky habits, in a video interview with Vogue India on Tuesday.

Revealing who in the relationship is the first person to apologise and say sorry after a fight, Aditi said it was her. However, Siddharth showed disagreement to the claim, interjecting, “I do so many things wrong every five minutes. Ninety percent of the words I speak to her are ‘sorry,’ and the remaining 10 percent are ‘thank you’.”

In another revelation, Siddharth shared that Aditi wakes him up “against my wishes and without my consent”. She was seen countering the claim by reasoning that waking up with the sunrise is important. A begrudging Siddharth was seen clapping back playfully in the video: “I wake up reluctantly and in tears that my day has begun. Now, the one person in the world who relishes this moment, almost like taking candy from a baby, is this person (Aditi),” he said.

The couple, who fondly referred to themselves as “Mrs & Mr Adu-Siddhu” in carousels of loved-up pics that they posted for their wedding, met on the sets of the 2021 film Maha Samudram. Their romance began there, with rumours of a relationship beginning to do the rounds in 2022, which the couple confirmed in March this year, when they announced their engagement in social media posts.

Actor Sharmin Segal has been on the receiving end of heavy criticism for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar and her “negative” interviews.

Segal has been facing flak for what many consider to be dismissive remarks about her co-stars; in a now-viral video, the actor seemed to refer to her co-star Sanjeeda Shaikh as an “outsider”. During the interview, Shaikh called Bhansali a “perfectionist”, to which Segal responded: “It’s is a very basic word to describe [Bhansali], it’s what an outsider, would use.”

When asked if she feels an “insider versus outsider” narrative was created over her interviews with Shaikh and actor Aditi Rao Hydari, she replied, “This is something I don’t know... my interviews were taken out of context. I share a very cordial equation with both Aditi and Sanjeeda. I wish people would not use 10-second clips to define the relationship I share with them.”

The red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival is all about glamour and fashion. But behind it lie multiple fitting sessions and negligible sleep, quipped Aditi Rao Hydari, when we spoke to her only days before she headed to the French Riviera. On Thursday, the actor walked the red carpet in a strapless monochrome gown, completing it with soft lip colour and an updo.

The idea was to showcase her inherent style. “I don’t try to prove anything to anyone. When I was starting out, people had a lot of advice to give me. For the promotions of my early films, I’d wear jeans and a shirt. People started saying, ‘Get a hairstylist, be glamorous, and wear heels.’ [I] felt the need to conform. That change [in mindset] happened in 2016 when I worked with Mani [Ratnam] sir. Subsequently, I’ve never let fashion play heavy on me,” said Hydari, who represented L’Oreal Paris at the gala.

Her non-conformist streak has held her in good stead. Earlier this month, her Gajagamini walk from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar caught the fancy of the internet.

“Sanjay sir had asked me to put on some weight. Then I got COVID-19 and became so skinny that everyone overfed me. I put on a few kilos when I went to shoot the song. I suggested losing weight, but Sanjay sir said, ‘You’re beautiful. You’re not a 2020 heroine, but a 1940’s woman.’ Today when I see how that has made people feel, it feels wonderful. People have written in to say that they feel seen. We’re stuck in a manufactured idea of beauty, and it took Sanjay sir to show that other body types are as beautiful. In our tryst to be healthy, we have normalized a particular body type. But all body types are beautiful.”

Even though the Cannes Film Festival is among the most prestigious film galas, for some, fashion takes precedence over movies. Hydari said, “It depends on the intention of the person. There are countless cinephiles there, who watch films all day long. The media also needs to report more diversely. This year, we have a film in the competition section [All We Imagine As Light]. Payal’s [Kapadia, director] mother is my mom’s friend. I want to catch her film!”

For a filmmaker who painstakingly goes into every detail, from the chandeliers on the set to the costumes, one can only imagine the care with which Sanjay Leela Bhansali crafts his characters. With Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, as the auteur tells the story of Lahore’s six courtesans, the one character that stands out is Aditi Rao Hydari’s Bibbojaan—a complex mix of allure and defiance. The actor has the perfect way to describe her role.

“Bibbojaan has the dreamy soul of Madhubala from Mughal-e-Azam [1960] and the fire of Joan of Arc,” she says. 

It was the character’s dichotomy that floored her. “Dichotomies make the character real, and as an actor, it gives me more to play with. Sanjay sir has written a layered character for Bibbojaan. Bibbo is celebrated for her beauty, dance and music, but she sacrifices it all, knowing that her courage may get no reward. She has a higher purpose. She uses her mind, beauty and privilege to further India’s freedom revolution.”

The Netflix series—also starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh and Sharmin Segal—depicts India’s fight for freedom when the courtesans are at the height of their power. With his maiden web series, Bhansali talks about not only power and desire, but also women’s agency and the politics of the times.

Hydari agrees, stating, “Art and how it finds a voice is always contextual. Artistes and culture cannot be viewed without a historical and an anthropological lens. My mother Vidya Rao had a grant from the Ford Foundation to research courtesans and thumri. I’ve heard many stories from the time in which Heeramandi is set.”

This is the second time she is working with Bhansali after Padmaavat (2018). Did the familiarity help as they created arguably India’s most ambitious web series? “Sanjay sir is an incredible teacher. He adores his actors, he lives and breathes his material. I love that Bibbojaan was brought to life by Sanjay sir. There were times when I’d be overwhelmed by the power of his words, the situations.”

That there are six women on the poster of India’s biggest show is a statement in itself. Hydari views it as a significant step towards moving to a time where gender won’t matter in stories. “It feels incredible to have such diverse women headlining a show created by Sanjay sir. I hope we get to a day when we never have to bring gender to make a point, a day when we tell great stories with balanced representation.”

Speculation about actors Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth’s secret wedding made headlines yesterday, with reports of the couple tying the knot at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Wanaparthy, Telangana, spreading like wildfire in the morning. While there was no official confirmation from either Aditi or Siddharth, the word in Wanaparthy is that the couple did tie the knot.

According to a resident, “The wedding ceremony was an intimate affair held between 4 am and 9.30 am. The temple was closed to visitors from the evening before. Rituals were conducted by priests from Tamil Nadu. The temple trustee handled all the arrangements.”

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Actor-couple Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth have reportedly gotten married. They tied the knot at a temple in Telangana on March 27 in an intimate ceremony that saw only close friends and family in attendance.

Aditi and Siddharth got married at Srirangapur’s Sri Ranganayakaswamy temple in Wanaparthy district, according to a GreatAndhra report. Aditi’s family has a special connection with the wedding venue as the actor’s maternal grandfather was the last ruler of Wanaparthy Samsthanam. The priests were called in from Tamil Nadu to officiate the ceremony as Siddharth’s roots are from there.

Rumours of their romance started swirling after the duo worked together in the 2021 Tamil-Telugu film Maha Samudram. Aditi was previously married to actor Satyadeep Misra (2009-2013).

We also tried reaching out to the couple individually but received no response, neither was an official statement put out by the couple till the time of going to press.

Aditi Rao Hydari, who was in town to attend the closing ceremony of the 29th International Film Festival on Tuesday, had a candid chat with us over a cup of coffee.

“Kolkata is home to some incredible cinema, so I feel this sacred energy here as an actor. The city has a positive vibe that one cannot miss. My life has a lot of Bengali influences, so I feel comfortable and extremely loved whenever I come to this city,” she told us, adding, “Bangla cinema has always been spoken about in the world. I grew up watching Bangla films and I must admit that my taste for films has a lot to do with that learning.” She also spoke about her connection to Bengali cuisine, how Mani Ratnam helped shape her career and more. Excerpts:

Speaking about the Bengali influences in her life, Aditi said, “Our cook at home is Bengali, and so was my childhood nanny, Nomi di. So, I love Bengali dishes such as Sorshe bata maach, Patla macher jhol, Mochar ghonto, shukto, chorchori and many more. I had aloo posto and bhaat for lunch; it tasted heavenly. I also love sarees from Kolkata, the cotton ones – Dhaniakhali. I don’t have time to go saree shopping this time, but I’m going to buy ghee to add in the shukto I have at home. Everyone at home loves notun gurer rosogolla, so I’m buying that too.”

When asked if she can speak Bangla, the actress said, “I can understand it, but I’m not a fluent speaker. Nomi di used to keep telling me, ‘Tatari koro, taratari khaoa sesh koro’ (laughs). Bangla is such a sweet language.”

Speaking about her approach to acting, Aditi said, “I am 100 % a director’s actor, but at times I do ask questions so that I can internalize the character. The director has a vision for the film and we actors just support that, so I prefer to listen to my director. But great directors give you room to explore and ask questions, make mistakes. And I feel it is good, as you learn from it.”

She added, “As an actor I don’t judge the characters I play, but at the same time I must be responsible for what I do on screen, as those films are watched by a lot of people. We need to feel responsible for what we put up on the big screen.”

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Bengali films are so rich in content. The industry boasts of directors such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh… the list is endless. I’ve also watched Bengali films by many contemporary directors

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It was wonderful to work with Bumba da (Prosenjit Chatterjee) in Jubilee. He is just amazing! He was the first one to be on the set and the last to leave. A true front bencher, I must say

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I’ve come up from a mixed family, heritage, and lineage, whatever you call it. And I feel lucky to be an actor of Indian cinema, which is so diverse in nature. There are so many stories to be told in different languages

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I’m very proud to be a Mani Ratnam student; I became an actor because of him. I enjoyed doing two films with him so much. Cinema is magical and I love magic. I want to be part of it all my life

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Rhythm, musicality, silences and finding music in silence are things I’ve grown up with. My teacher used to tell me dance is not just about showing a mudra, it’s about how you use the silence between two movements. To me, acting is about finding the music in the silences

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I couldn’t be part of dada’s (Arindam Sil) film Har Har Byomkesh due to date problems. But if he offers me a Bengali film again, I’ll be honoured to be part of it.

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When your car drives to a film festival, you know the energy is full of cinema and that is exactly what I felt when I came to Nandan. Everybody here loves cinema so that energy is infectious. KIFF is such a prestigious film festival of the country. It is an honour to be part of prestigious film festivals as you are surrounded by artistic people with a vision and great filmmakers.

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Awards are huge inspirations for me. I feel like a little child. It’s so exciting when you bag an award. When you get that love through an award it is indeed fascinating and inspires you more to do good, better work. It is lovely for your work to get recognized.

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I have never lived in Kolkata, but my mother, who is a classical musician, used to visit the city. So, I used to come here with my mother.

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Everybody should be a child forever in their heart. I get teased a lot by everybody that I am still a five-year-old child within, and I’ll never grow up. That’s fine, as I learnt that from my nani (grandmother). That’s the only way to be in life. I guess I love the company of little kids and animals the most, as they are the purest and unafraid of what they say. So, I am a five-year-old forever.

For her second appearance at Cannes, Aditi Rao Hydari has been channelling her inner modern-day princess. The actress spoke to us from the French Riviera about her experience this time around.

Aditi said, “It feels surreal to be at Cannes during the film festival, and though it’s my second time here, I am still new to this. The pressure can take over, but it’s important to have fun and celebrate. I was multitasking and shooting till the day I got on the flight. I was sleep deprived and had no time for fittings or any prep, but I have a great team, and we are winging it.”

When asked if there were any faux pas from the past that she was particular about not repeating this time, she replied, “In other people’s eyes, we are always making mistakes, but we can’t live our life by what others think about us. We have to be truthful to ourselves and our intentions. We need to celebrate life and be happy. The only thing I have control over is intent, and like last year, this year too, my intention was to just be authentic about what I was wearing, enjoy the red carpet and not feel daunted by the massive expectations of the ‘Cannes red carpet’.”

Aditi says, “I don’t want to live by other people’s standards of beauty. To me, it is about upholding your self-respect, pride and dignity and empowering yourself and other women.”

She adds, “The prep was so stressful last year… like which designer are you getting, how big is he/she, what colour is your gown? I was a bundle of nerves and so was my team. At some point, we all got in a team huddle after we landed in Cannes. We got a coffee and decided to stop stressing ourselves and take it as it comes. That was a good learning lesson. This year, the lead up to Cannes was calmer.”

When people label a certain project as heroine-oriented, Aditi Rao Hydari wonders why other projects aren’t described in the same paradigm. “We don’t say, ‘This is a hero-oriented film’. We need stories about men, women, children and even animals. There should be equal space for stories of all people and nothing should be defined by gender. It should be about people,” says Hydari.

The actor, who has made waves for her performances in the web series Taj and Jubilee, wishes for a number of changes for the film industry in the coming times. “I wish artistry came first and led to good business, instead of having to create a business model and trying to put artistry into it,” she says, adding, “Also, it’s 2023 and we’re still not talking enough about pay parity and gender issues. I wish that changed.”

The pressure to keep figuring out ways to stay in the limelight often hounds artistes, and the 36-year-old says: “I wish we didn’t have to keep shouting out loud about ourselves. There is a lot of pressure to keep talking about yourself, and that follows false perceptions that are built up [about you]. I wish we could just concentrate on our work.”

As far as the extra focus on actors’ lives is concerned, Hydari has grown indifferent to it, including negative stuff that is often written about her. “[The attention] comes with being in the public eye. I can either crib about it or look at the positives. I prefer the latter, which is that I get so much love and so many compliments. [The industry] is a beautiful place to work. We are creating dreams every day. I prefer to look at it like that,” shares the Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) actor.

What about the negatives? “I always feel people do what they think is right. If they want to be negative, that is their journey. I prefer to concentrate on the happy things,” she ends.

More than 15 years ago, when Aditi Rao Hydari entered the world of movies, she was told that her softness and naivete had no place in the industry. That she would have to build nerves of steel to survive the harshness of showbiz. “I might be naive and sensitive, but they are my biggest strengths. In the beginning, everybody used to tell me, ‘You are too soft and naive. You have to be harder and thick-skinned.’ But after a couple of years, I felt this is not me,” she recounts.

Her instinct to be true to herself paid off. Ironically, it was Hydari’s dainty appearance and air of vulnerability that landed her promising parts in Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), Padmaavat (2018), Sufiyum Sujatayum (2020) and the recent Jubilee. In Vikramaditya Motwane’s acclaimed series about the Hindi film industry of the late ’40s and early ’50s, she plays superstar Sumitra Kumari who has the world at her feet, yet is a picture of loneliness. It’s easy to see that creator-director Motwane not only played up her innate softness, but also made her draw from her emotional strength.

“Vikram sir clearly saw in me one [aspect] of Sumitra, which is the fragility of her heart. He also possibly [felt that I could] carry a period megastar look convincingly because he has said so in interviews. Films were made for Sumitra. So, she had to have a star-like persona. As an actor, I had to work with him on the physicality of her public persona, and the inaccessibility that she possesses,” Hydari says.

As she basks in the praise coming her way for Jubilee, the actor has also realized that embracing her idealism has made her a better artiste. “People tell me my innocence and vulnerability are the first thing they notice about me. I believe it has also been used in the work I have done. When you perform, you tear apart your heart to give something to the character. It leaves you vulnerable. I have realized the only way I work best is when I feel loved and nurtured.”

At the start of 2023, Aditi Rao Hydari was yet to have a taste of web series. Four months on, she sits pretty with two OTT shows, Taj: Divided by Blood and Jubilee, behind her. Vikramaditya Motwane’s offering has won the actor rich praise for her portrayal of Sumitra Kumari, a much-loved movie star of the ’40s who finds herself a mere pawn in her studio owner-husband’s grand plans.

Despite her 14 years in the Hindi film industry, one senses it’s finally the long-format storytelling that has tapped into Hydari’s potential.

To the actor, however, the vision of filmmakers, not the medium, is key. “The onus of utilizing actors and their talent is on directors and producers. They have to be able to imagine us in roles and have the courage to feature us. Do they have the courage to tell those stories and fight those battles where they are nurturing talent? That is the question,” she asserts.

She cites the Amazon Prime Video offering as the perfect example of a project that gives equal footing to all its cast members — Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta and Wamiqa Gabbi — regardless of their stardom.

“It’s not like Bumba da [Chatterjee], Apar and I are the only ones on its poster; Sidhant and Wamiqa are too. It’s important to encourage people who are good [at their craft]. I have worked with Sidhant in the past, and he is a good actor. Wamiqa has extensively worked in Punjabi films.”

Distinguishing between OTT and big-screen releases is a myopic view, argues Hydari, who has another web series in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi. She reveals that her own perspective on the so-called hierarchy changed when her Malayalam film, Sufiyum Sujatayum (2020), released digitally despite being planned as a theatrical offering.

“We had to release it on OTT as theatres were shut during the lockdown. I cried then because it was my first Malayalam film, and a beautiful love story at that. But when it released, the response [was overwhelming]. People told me they didn’t understand Malayalam, but it’s their favourite film. So, how does it matter how you reach the audience? I believe in working with good directors and being a part of good [projects]. It doesn’t matter if it’s a theatrical film, an OTT film or a series.”

“Since Friday, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” Prosenjit Chatterjee says. Some calls are from members in the Hindi film industry, others from his peers in Bengali cinema. They all have the same thing to say — that Jubilee deserves a round of applause. “I couldn’t have asked for a better OTT debut,” beams Chatterjee, who has dominated Bengali cinema for almost four decades.

With Jubilee, creator-director Vikramaditya Motwane goes back to the Hindi film industry of the ’40s and ’50s. Chatterjee plays Srikant Roy, a powerful movie mogul owning Roy Talkies and a star-maker in his own right. The actor says he had two reasons to give his nod to the Amazon Prime Video offering — his love for that era’s cinema, and the opportunity to work with Motwane.

“Vikram is one of the finest directors of new-age cinema. When he narrated the subject to me, he said that from the day he started penning it six years ago, he had only me in mind for Srikant Roy. What makes him one of the finest directors is that even today, he [behaves like] an assistant director — he will do everything himself. Also, I know about people from that era, and their contribution to Indian cinema. One of my favourite films has been Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool [1959]. When I entered Jubilee’s set, I hugged Vikram and told him that he had fulfilled one of my dreams.”

Motwane’s character brief to the senior actor was pithy: “Srikant Roy is a king who only believes in his cinema”. Chatterjee brought in gravitas and restraint to the part.

“Aditi [Rao Hydari] and my characters are simmering with emotions, but cannot show them. After playing many roles, we get the maturity to handle such parts; expressing [every emotion] through our attitude, eyes and body language. [When explaining the role of] Srikant, Vikram told me, ‘I just want The Godfather.’”

The Bengali superstar is probably best remembered in Bollywood for his act in Shanghai (2012). Asked why he hasn’t been seen in Hindi cinema after Traffic (2016), he quips, “Vikram didn’t [consider] me for his last projects. I need good directors who know my body of work. Hindi movie directors, including Anurag Kashyap and Anurag Basu, have said that it’s not easy casting me as the roles are not challenging enough. I’ve been around for over 30 years. David Dhawan, who gave me my first Hindi film [Aandhiyan], told me I was mind-blowing in Jubilee. I have reached a position today where the roles have to excite me, not the project alone.”

Up next, he has the Bengali film, Shesh Pata.

So strong is the memory of the late Madhubala from Mughal-E-Azam (1960) that it’s almost impossible to think of any other actor as Anarkali. Aditi Rao Hydari thought so too when she was offered the role in Taj: Divided by Blood. The actor reveals that she initially rejected the part. “When this role first came to me, I was like, ‘No chance! Madhubala is Anarkali.’ I said ‘No, thank you’ to the makers,” she recounts.

It was only when director Ron Scalpello and his team convinced Hydari that they weren’t revisiting Mughal-e-Azam, but telling a drastically different story, that the actor changed her mind. The upcoming ZEE5 series — also starring Naseeruddin Shah, Rahul Bose, Sandhya Mridul and Aashim Gulati — traces how Mughal emperor Akbar’s sons turned against each other in their bid to succeed to the throne.

Courtesan Anarkali became a disruptor as she fell in love with one of Akbar’s sons, Salim. “Ron and [his team underlined] that they were not remaking the love story. In many ways, they were making a family drama. Also, the way they saw Anarkali was different,” says Hydari, noting that Taj paints a more intimate portrait of the courtesan.

“She doesn’t know she is going to be iconic many centuries later. At the time, she was just a woman held captive, wanting freedom. She fell in love with the prince, and that was her biggest boon as well as her biggest downfall. We look at her as a tragic heroine, but Anarkali was a fearless and spirited woman who stood by her love despite the punishment.”

Hydari’s filmography is dotted with period dramas. While she previously featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018), she will soon be seen in his web series, Heeramandi, and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee that is set in ’60s Bollywood. What is it about her that makes filmmakers associate her with period offerings? “I don’t know,” she smiles.

“I do love epic romances and period [settings]. I feel happy that filmmakers see me [in that light], and people accept me in these roles. There are certain directors I have longed to work with, whether it’s Mani [Ratnam] sir, or Sanjay sir, or most recently Vikram sir. When such dreams come true, I count them as blessings.”

Click, upload. Click, upload. Be it outside a gym, airport or cafe, social media feeds are filled with celeb spottings 24*7. Stories are weaved just by viewing these snaps and reels — fashion, dating life, body language, pretty much everything makes it to news headlines, too. But is there any magic mantra by which the paps get to know about the whereabouts of celebs? Here’s an explainer by three popular paparazzi: Viral Bhayani, Yogen Shah and Manav Manglani.

Most of the time, Manglani says, they research to track celeb movements, usually around their movie releases. “We know that the stars will come out to promote their project, we know where they are shooting, we know their car numbers by heart. And the PR managers also tell us where the celebs will be at what time,” Manglani tells us.

Meanwhile, Shah says the restaurant spottings happen on the tip of the owners of the joints: “The day the actors get to know that these things are happening, they will stop going to that restaurant.”

“We have to chase the big celebs. The others call you to pap them,” says Bhayani, adding that sometimes it gets overwhelming for them. He adds that many non-A-listers, too, call them up and say, “Humari spotting kar do, paisa le lo”.

A well-placed source also reveals, “Big celebs don’t care about spottings. But others use this as a tool through which corporate heads notice them, and pay them for favours.”

Bhayani shares that these days, a lot of “producers also put pressure” to snap actors who are part of their movies “to increase project visibility”. Whose spottings are most in demand? “Actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt, TejRan (Tejasswi Prakash and Karan Kundrra) and Shehnaaz Gill. Rakhi Sawant involved in some banter or Uorfi Javed doing something crazy are also in demand. And as for who people don’t want to see, even at the airports — most senior, prolific actors,” he says.

Have stars ever asked you to delete pics? “We are very pally with celebs now. But until a few years back, it used to happen a lot. Like an actor exiting a maker’s office would say, ‘Please let announcement happen first’. But we also don’t click celebs who don’t want us to, like actor Siddharth (who threatened the paps when they clicked him exiting the same salon as rumoured girlfriend, actor Aditi Rao Hydari),” Manglani concludes.

Where there is Sanjay Leela Bhansali, there are bound to be elaborate song-and-dance sequences. In his maiden web series Heeramandi, the auteur is bringing his signature grandeur, with every episode said to have a song mounted on a lavish scale.

Last month, Bhansali filmed a major dance sequence that features Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari and Richa Chadha. Kruti Mahesh choreographed the folk dance number. Now, it is learnt that the showrunner-creator has set the stage for another track.

Sources from the set indicate that the team will begin shooting for a qawwali number at Film City today. “It will be an elaborate 10-day shoot. The team has brought on board specialised qawwali artistes. The song primarily focuses on Aditi and Manisha, but other actors are expected to join in later,” reveals a source.

The Netflix offering that tells the story of love, betrayal and politics in the lives of courtesans in pre-Independence Lahore, also features Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Huma Qureshi. Sharmin Segal, television actors Niyati Fatnani and Siddharth Gupta — who play pivotal roles — will join the unit this month.