Manish Mishra (DNA; October 14, 2014)


How has fatherhood changed you?
I’ve spent the past three months doing no work. If there’s any way I could say no, I would say no. Honestly, I am glad about that. The first two-three months are the toughest. It’s the most tumultuous period, when you are literally dropped into the middle of this — you have a baby and you have not even the slightest clue what you are doing. You are always nervous, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing the wrong thing? Am I feeding her enough? Am I feeding her too much? At this point, it’s very important for a couple to be together. I do know if I wasn’t home at that point, Avantika would have felt very abandoned and alone.

You’re quite close to your father. Because of that, do you take your role as a father even more seriously?
I was very fortunate. I had a very good equation with my father and my stepfather. For that, I have to credit both of them and my mother. When my parents separated, I was very young, I was three years old. The objective was that I shouldn’t feel that I have less. I should never see them fighting, speaking ill about each other. In that sense, I have been very fortunate, they were sensitive and mature enough. When they separated they were younger than I am today — they were 24-25 and I am 31 now. Even then, they were mature enough to put my needs above their own. My biological dad makes it a point to meet us once a year and stay with us. Generally, he makes a point to come down when I have a film releasing. This time, he came to meet the baby.

You had said that you’d get a new tattoo after the baby was born. Decided anything yet?
My current tattoo is a samurai. I haven’t decided yet on the second one. I’ll probably ask my artist to design something. You should allow the artist to draw. That’s where the artform comes from. You have to trust your artist. You give a thought or emotion — that kind of a thing. I am a big believer in allowing the artist to create. Otherwise, I can download a picture from the net and say, yeh duplicate karo. That’s not art.

Upala KBR (DNA; May 13, 2014)

Imran Khan recently got inked. His tattoo has a lot of elements of his favourite superhero Batman. It was designed by an artist called Akula. She is from Kazakhstan and runs a design studio called Tattoolab along with her husband Max in Goa.

Says a source close to the actor, “Imran is a perfectionist. He knows what he wants and he goes about it in a very studied manner. He flew to Goa to meet Akula, and shared the concept with her. He wanted something with elements of Batman. She drew out a few designs based on his brief and he selected one. He got the tattoo on his right arm. It took about four hours to finish.”

Imran is a very private person and isn’t one to flash his tattoo. Adds the insider, “This has deep significance for him. Perhaps, something to do with him soon becoming a father. It is something he has done for himself and not because everyone is getting a tattoo or it’s a considered cool to get it. He believes Batman is the coolest superhero. When his wife Avantika saw the tattoo she loved it and thought it was pretty cool.” Now he plans to have one more tattoo done when his baby is born with the name of his first born.

Not the first
This is not his first tat. He had gotten his first one — a sun on his neck — when he was 17-year-old. “It was along with his best friend, who is an artist. It was a tattoo that held tremendous emotional significance for Imran as they are best friends for life,” says an insider.