Sonakshi Sinha is exactly where she wants to be. Behind her, she has a successful web series in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, and ahead are interesting projects, including Kakuda and Karan Rawal’s thriller. Does turning producer figure as the next step in her career? Many of her peers —from Deepika Padukone to Alia Bhatt, from Anushka Sharma to Kriti Sanon—have made the shift. But the actor says she is enjoying the strong roles coming her way too much to turn producer.

“Kussh [Sinha, brother] has his production company,” starts Sonakshi, who fronts Kussh’s maiden offering, Nikita Roy and The Book of Darkness. 

“I am busy as an actor and entrepreneur, with my press-on nails company. My energy goes into both [these channels]. I’m very happy with the offers I’m getting now, I want to pick and choose good work. I don’t have the time to sit and work on scripts with teams to produce projects. If I get into something, I’ll get into it 100 per cent; I can’t do anything half-heartedly,” she smiles.

The actor rules out the possibility of expanding her love for cinema to script writing. “I’m not much of a writer. I like painting and creating art.” When she is not acting, painting or focusing on her business, you’ll find Sonakshi spending her downtime in her Bandra apartment. The actor says she chose the location keeping her actor-father Shatrughan Sinha’s dream in mind.

“My dad used to tell me how he bought his first house in Bandstand. He still has that. So, I always wanted a house in Bandra too. It’s my place to have work meetings and catch up with friends. I still live in Juhu.”

Actors Sonakshi Sinha, Luv Sinha and director Kussh Sinha’s art venture, which brought emerging artists to the fore, is holding its first offline exhibition. The exclusive, by-invite-only show, titled Locus of Control, driven by BMW Infinity Cars, Worli (Mumbai), is scheduled for April 9-10.

In July 2021, the Sinha siblings launched their venture titled House of Creativity. The online platform allows art aficionados to procure contemporary artworks from homegrown Indian talents. Their first offline foray is curated by Abhinit Khanna, assisted by Anushka Bhatnagar, and features select works, including paintings, photography, film, textile and new media, by contemporary House of Creativity artists such as Ali Akbar Mehta, Arvind Sundar, Digbijayee Khatua, Govinda Sah Azad, Kedar DK, Koshy Brahmatmaj, Sarika Mehta, Shalaka Patil, Tushar Waghela, Urvi Sethna, as well as Sonakshi, Luv and Kussh.

The goal behind the siblings’ venture was to help budding artists reach a wider audience, which was not always possible on their own, especially amid the pandemic. With the tide finally changing for the better, they want people to identify their hand-picked artists with their works, and that’s the reason behind the offline show.

Sonakshi, a self-taught artist, is thrilled about the venture’s inaugural exhibition and also about showcasing her new series of acrylic on canvas. “My works are about colours and a lot of my identity, but not in an obvious, in-your-face manner. They are my interpretation of self-portraits,” she says.

Luv, who will be displaying two of his photography works, adds, “Our primary goal is to display works of artists on-board at House of Creativity. It’s a huge responsibility to give them a platform... As for my photographs, they are all about energy, colours and positivity.”

Continuing the discussion, Kussh states, “Art is a way of giving your creativity a physical form. Even if I take a digital photograph, how I set the frame or what subjects draw me in, that’s personal. For me, art signifies a memory that causes me to ponder.”

The exhibition will also have a panel talk, besides transmedia artist Ali Akbar Mehta executing a new media artwork intervention inside a brand new BMW 7 series on display. Surely worth taking a dekko! 

Dilip Kumar and actor-MP Saira Banu were deeply moved by Shatrughan Sinha's unscheduled visit to their home over the last weekend. The veteran actor had taken his wife Poonam, his newly-wed son Kussh and daughter-in-law Tarunna Agrrawal to meet Dilip sahab and his wife Sairaji. He wanted the young couple to take the blessings of the thespian. It so happens that the Hindi cinema legend's health is fragile and he couldn't step out to attend Kussh's wedding, so the Sinhas devised this visit.

A humbled Sairaji revealed, “It is only a month since Dilip sahab has been discharged from hospital. His doctor has asked him not to mingle with crowds. We therefore informed Poonam that we would not be able to make it to Kussh's wedding. Much to our surprise, the Sinhas themselves came over to meet us with the couple. We were least expecting them to make time to visit us in between all their marriage ceremonies and festivities. And I cannot tell you how overwhelmed Sahab and I were when a fleet of cars rolled into our bungalows. It was a sweet surprise from the Sinhas. Isko bolte hai parampara, good culture and tradition.“

Sonakshi Sinha couldn't make time for this visit. The newly-weds touched the thespian's feet. The family was around for an hour, during which Yusuf sahab blessed the newly-weds and sat with them, holding their hand. Sairaji gifted the couple a Ganpati idol on the auspicious beginning. “Kussh is very fond of Dilip sahab and he loves him, too. He had even clicked some lovely pictures of Dilip sahab and his father on the former's 89th birthday,“ recalled Saira.

Dhanteras will be a big day for Sonakshi Sinha, Luv and Kussh as the star kids will launch their own production company on this auspicious occasion. Sounding excited, Kush said that he would look more into the business aspects of it while his brother Luv and star sister Sonakshi will concentrate on the creative side. “ All three of us will be combining our strengths and supporting each other,“ added Kush, who has assisted filmmakers Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Abhinav Kashyap in the past. Said Sonakshi, “I will support the company as an actor as well as a family member.“

Sheetal Talwar, who produced the Demi Moore Amber Heard starrer The Joneses, and Hindi films including Rann, Rakta Charitra and Mausam, had bought the film rights of British author Jeffrey Archer's 1984 novel First Among Equals and a short story, A La Carte, from his collection of A Twist In The Tale last year. (Mirror, November 18, 2013).

The latest is that Talwar is about to hand over the directorial reins to Shatrughan Sinha's son Kussh Sinha for a TV series based on First Among Equals.

When contacted, Kussh confirmed that he had indeed met Talwar. “We haven't finalised the details though," said Kush.

A source close to the development said, “Kussh has wanted to wield the megaphone for a long time and is now ready for the job. Talwar and he are working out the modalities."

This is the first time that Archer, whose books have sold over 25 million copies worldwide, has granted the right of his books to an Indian producer.

But many Bollywood films in the past have borrowed plots and subplots from the 73-year-old novelist's books including Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl (Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less) and Khudgarz (Kane and Able).