When Pankaj Tripathi travels to Australia this month to receive his first international honour as "Artist of Distinction" honour at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2026. He will attend the festival in Victoria, Australia, to accept the award in person at Melbourne's Palais Theatre on August 13, 2026. It will mark another milestone in a career that has rewritten the rules of stardom. For the actor, however, the recognition isn't just personal. He regards it as an indication that tales born on Indian soil can travel continents.

Reflecting on the journey, Tripathi says he often marvels at where life has taken him. "I feel good. Life is such an interesting journey. I was born in a place where there was no electricity. From there, to travel across the seven seas... the biggest contribution in this journey is not mine, but my art form. I've been practicing this art for over 20 years. God gave me that opportunity, directors and producers trusted me, and I became part of stories that travelled from India to the world. People watched them there, recognized them and appreciated them. It is an honour. I feel very proud."

The actor has experienced that international reach first-hand. What surprised him most wasn't the growing South Asian diaspora embracing his work, but viewers with no cultural connection to India responding to the nuances of his performances.

"Two reviewers in the US, Nick and Corwin, used to discuss my performances in such detail. They even interviewed me. I kept wondering how these small Indian nuances were reaching them. Then I realized that performing art goes beyond language. Cinema is a visual medium. You may not understand every word, but you understand the mannerisms, the posture and the internal effort of an actor."

He recalls another moment that reaffirmed the universality of storytelling. "Last year I was walking on a street in New York and thought very few people would recognize me here. A foreign family, I think from South America, came up to me. They recognized me. We often believe our global audience is only of Indian or Asian origin, but I realized it has gone much beyond that. Our films are dubbed and subtitled in different languages, and people everywhere are watching them."

Back home, Tripathi is equally hopeful about the future of acting as a profession. With the National School of Drama set to open a Mumbai campus, he hopes formal training will continue to matter in an industry increasingly obsessed with social media metrics.

"Learning the craft of acting is important. Influencers create content from their own minds and many of them do it very well. But acting is different. The content isn't yours. Someone else writes it and you have to become another person. Content creators usually play versions of themselves, so there can be limitations. That's why learning the craft, whether at NSD or anywhere else, is important."

He also dismisses the perception that follower counts dictate casting decisions. "I once asked one of the heads of Amazon whether followers really mattered. He told me that isn't true. What matters is whether the actor is right for the role. Marketing teams may think about followers because it helps with reach, but art and follower counts have nothing to do with each other. I don't see that connection."

In De De Pyaar De 2, Meezaan Jafri’s character arrives with swag, as he balances a split across two cars. But off screen, the actor — senior actor Jaaved Jaaferi’s son — doesn’t believe in stunts to grab eyeballs. “I’m here for the next 20–30 years. Slow and steady is my path,” says Meezaan, pleased that his latest release, led by Ajay Devgn, is having a strong run.

Slow is an unconventional choice in today’s age of instant gratification. But the actor believes he has made unconventional choices right from the start, when  he skipped acting school in favour of filmmaking school. It was Ranbir Kapoor who advised him to do so.

“Ranbir was shooting Besharam [2013] with my father at the time. He told me, ‘Don’t apply to the usual places. Go to SVA [School of Visual Arts] in New York. It’s only filmmaking, no unnecessary subjects.’” Meezaan says that the piece of advice was a game-changer for him. “That school shaped how I look at films.”

The Malaal (2019) actor may not have had a breakout film yet, but he is not in a hurry. “Overnight success is scary. If you get a massive hit too early, you set a benchmark. I’d rather build slowly,” he reasons.

A film like De De Pyaar De 2, which sees him share screen space with his father, makes this ride joyful. And sometimes scary, says Meezaan, referring to their dance sequence. “I was terrified. I was dealing with Jaaved Jaaferi in his strongest zone!”

Mira Nair hugs her son Zohran Mamdani; (right) A still from ‘Dhoom Machale’

The late hours of November 4 in the US brought the jubilant news that the supporters of leader Zohran Mamdani were hoping for. The 34-year-old became the first South Asian and Muslim mayor of New York City. For those in India too, it was a moment to cheer. What followed were powerful moments — the newly elected mayor gave a compelling speech, stating, “I am Muslim, and I refuse to apologize for it”, and rounded it off with the perfect Bollywood icing that no one saw coming. The auditorium echoed with Dhoom Machale, the title track of Dhoom (2004), as Mamdani smiled at the huge crowd.

When mid-day reached out to Pritam Chakraborty, whose chartbuster has now found its place in global history, the elated composer said, “It’s apt that Dhoom Machale should be the highlight song when the son of Indian immigrants becomes the mayor of New York [City]. Mamdani’s win is definitely creating Dhoom! I also had the opportunity to interact with Mira Nair. My congratulations to her!” 

Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, the track was a rage when the film released. But now, the song has acquired a political colour. Pritam added, “Our music and films are soft power that have spread our culture across the globe.” This is not the first time Mamdani used a Bollywood reference. In one of his videos, he recreated the Deewar (1975) scene, “Mere paas maa hai,” customizing it to fit the campaign.

After years of speculation around their relationship, actors Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda are finally engaged. Vijay’s team confirmed the development to us on Saturday, hours after rumours of the engagement emerged online.

While the details are unknown, the actor’s team revealed that the two plan to get married in February next year. Neither Rashmika (29) nor Vijay (36) has made any announcement regarding their engagement.

The two have been rumoured to be dating for nearly seven years; they first met on the sets of the Telugu film Geetha Govindam (2018) and worked together on 2019’s Dear Comrade as well.

While the two have shied away from commenting on their relationship status, eagle-eyed fans in the past have pointed out that the actors often share vacation pictures from the same locations.

More recently, the duo were seen holding hands as they led the 43rd India Day Parade in New York (US) as grand marshalls.

Interestingly, both actors finally confirmed that they were not single last year. However, they did not name their respective partners.

Earlier this year, they were spotted leaving Mumbai airport together in the same vehicle, sparking speculation about going whether they were going public with their relationship.

A few days ago, Anshula got engaged to screenwriter Rohan Thakkar in New York. She shared the news on her Instagram with dreamy photos of the proposal that happened at NYC's Central Park, in front of the famous Belvedere Castle. In her post, Anshula, who met Rohan on a dating app in 2022, wrote, “’I’ve never been the girl who believed in fairytales, but what @rohanthakkar1511 gave me that day was better. Because it was intentional. Thoughtful. Real. Us. I said yes (sic).”

Anshula's father, producer Boney Kapoor is over the moon about the daughter's engagement. Reacting to the happy news, he told us, “I am really happy and elated. This was the best day. I wish this had happened when my mother was alive. When I heard it, I was absolutely delighted. It’s the best news I've heard in some time.”

Boney shared that the family is now looking forward to discussing the wedding. “Everybody is excited. We are waiting for them to come back so we can decide the wedding date. We need to talk to them”. 

Overwhelmed with emotion, he added, “I am grateful to my mother (Nirmal Kapoor, who passed away in May), she couldn’t manage it when she was alive, but as soon as she went up, she managed it.”

There’s a buzz doing the rounds that actress Kiara Advani has been approached to portray the iconic Meena Kumari in an upcoming biopic. Reports claimed that director Siddharth P Malhotra saw Kiara as the perfect choice for the role of the legendary actress, and had already narrated the script to her. According to sources, Kiara who is currently pregnant and recently made waves with her debut at the Met Gala, is said to have loved the story and may soon give it a green light.

However, when we reached out to Malhotra, he clarified the rumours, and said, “This is all a hypothesis. I am in New York now and I will be back in Mumbai by the end of July, and only then will I start with my narration. I am going to lock Kamal Amrohi’s casting first. Until then, I won’t move on to casting for Meena Kumari ji’s role.”

Director Siddharth P Malhotra, known for films like Hichki and Maharaj, acknowledged that rumours around the biopic’s casting continue to circulate. “Every now & then, rumours surface of a certain Bollywood actress being approached for the biopic. I don’t think before September we can officially announce Kamal Amrohi & Meena ji’s casting,” he said.

When asked if Kiara had been in discussions with him for the role at any point, Malhotra said, “We have had conversations about possibly doing it. She is pregnant & will deliver in some time. Now in the last few months before delivery, it is unrealistic to discuss this.”

Malhotra has officially secured the rights for the film, which aims to bring to life the epic real-life love story between celebrated actress Meena Kumari & legendary director-screenwriter Kamal Amrohi.

akash.bhatnagar@​partner.hindustantimes.com

John Abraham-starrer The Diplomat this month made its way to OTT and has been earning rave reviews. While the web medium has become the go-to platform for everyone, including many stars, John, who also produced The Diplomat, has no plans to foray into OTT any time soon.

“To do OTT, you need a big office setup. You need a lot of people working towards something where you don’t even own the IP. You make a commission from the series and that goes into your overheads. So, I don’t see any sense in breaking a sweat on doing these series,” says the producer.

Does that mean the 52-year-old would never back an OTT project, even if it’s a substantial one? “I’d love to do that [as a creator]. But that would happen because I want to tell that story, not because I want to make a business model out of it.”

But how about foraying into the space as an actor? “At this point, I don’t want to come on OTT for a series or film. In my head, I believe I was made for the big screen. I have a lot of respect for OTT though, because most of the content, at least internationally, and some Indian projects too, are outstanding,” he responds.

Meanwhile, there’s buzz about a film on his character Jim from Pathaan (2023) being planned in the spy universe.

Mention this to John, and he says, “I’d love to work with (producer) Aditya Chopra again, because if there is one person who has positioned me perfectly as a hero or anti-hero, it’s him. First Dhoom (2004), then Kabul Express (2006), then New York (2009) and then Pathaan. So yes, I’d love to do a film in the spy universe.”

Nargis Fakhri was in the news on Tuesday after her younger sister, Aliya Fakhri was arrested for allegedly setting fire to her ex-boyfriend Edward Jacobs’ home in New York City, which led to his and his friend Anastasia Ettienne’s deaths. Queens District Attorney, Melinda Katz, confirmed that Aliya has been indicted on firstdegree murder and related charges. Katz stated that the fire, which authorities believe was set by Aliya in the detached garage near Jacobs’ home, caused both victims to die from smoke inhalation and burns.

Reports claim that Nargis was estranged from her sister and the two had not been in contact for almost 20 years. According to sources, the Rockstar actress only learned about the incident through news reports.

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Actor Nargis Fakhri’s sister, Aliya Fakhri, has reportedly been arrested in connection with the murder of her ex-boyfriend and his friend in New York last month. Aliya, 43, “deliberately” set on fire the detached garage of a house, which led to the death of her 35-year-old ex-beau Edward Jacobs and Anastasia Ettienne (33), according to a press release by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

“You’re all going to die today”, Aliya allegedly yelled at Edward after arriving at the garage early on November 2. Edward, who lived upstairs, was asleep during the incident. A witness came out hearing her voice and saw the building on fire. Anastasia came downstairs on being alerted and went back up to save him, but neither of them survived the incident.

Aliya was indicted by a grand jury for four counts of murder in the first degree, four counts of murder in the second degree and one count each of arson in the first degree and arson in the second degree, the release said, adding that she faces a potential maximum of life in prison if convicted of the top charge.

According to reports, Aliya’s mother has said that she was struggling with opioid addiction after a dental mishap, which she believes may have caused her daughter’s behaviour. Meanwhile, a source close to her told India Today that she hasn’t been in touch with her sister for 20 years. We reached out to Nargis, but she was unavailable for comment till the time of going to press.

Surely, you’ve seen the film Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008). “If I’m not mistaken, it was Ranbir Kapoor’s second film, and his first for Yash Raj [Films],” Bollywood star Katrina Kaif informs us.

Now, there were four women in that movie. Three you know: Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, Minissha Lamba. The fourth was? Katrina!

The film was, in a sense, a goal unlocked for her—she had been “vying for a Yash Raj production” for some time. Except that once she met producer Aditya Chopra, he said, “The script was getting too long—so we had to snip the fourth female part.”

Katrina recalls, “It was a limited role, yes. But I was, like, you gotta be joking! Shortly thereafter, Aditya called me to offer another film. 

“He’d already taken me off a big commercial release. My response to the new offer was—he’s instead offering me a small, artsy film, with no songs, scale, dance, and with Kabir Khan, who’s a documentary filmmaker? I was not happy about it!”

Salman Khan convinced her to do the role. He had met Kabir before, discussing his debut, Kabul Express (2006), and was impressed enough—although they worked together on Ek Tha Tiger (2012) much later.

The Katrina film in question is New York (2009), a political drama, set in post-9/11 America. She says, “I walked begrudgingly on to that set, looking disdainfully [in my head], biting my teeth: such a small crew, where are the lights, cameras… I had just come off Singh Is Kinng (2008), that had been so massively loved by audiences.”

Cut to the wrap-day of the film’s shoot in New York, and she was crying: “Nobody wanted the shoot to end. Up until this day, New York remains the most amazing and eye-opening experience of my life in films.”

“The closest friends I have in the industry are from that film. It played a bit of a role in the journey of my life, thereafter. Kabir gave me the confidence to have my own voice. Something I hadn’t even considered.”

Until then, Katrina confesses, she went by a simple Bollywood playbook on sets: “Do as told. Quietly.” If you scroll through her filmography thereafter, full of male superstar-driven money-spinners otherwise, you do sense a particular pivot, post New York.

Next stop: Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti (2010), the Mahabharat, adapted into the heartland of India’s politics: “I mean, what an experience, what a shoot!”

Katrina remembers, “There was this sequence in Bhopal, where my character’s husband dies, and I take centre-stage. I look before me. There are 2,000-3,000 people, for as long as your eyes can see. I’m supposed to give a speech in front of them, like a politician, and with the film’s entire cast [on the podium]. My hands were trembling. I remember Nana [Patekar] Sir telling me, it’s going to be fine; just go ahead and do it. And it was fine!”

From here on, we can cut further to multiple parts in Katrina’s thoroughly mainstream career, with enough meat for her to juice out as an actor as well—Zoya Akhtar’s ensemble road-trip, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011, easily my favourite), to Bharat (2019), a synchronous history of contemporary India, told through the lives of its protagonists, with Katrina paired opposite Salman. 

But she wants to zero-in, instead, on Aanand L Rai’s Zero (2018). TIL: Before Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) got onboard that picture, it was titled Katrina Meri Jaan, with Katrina playing a double role!

Well, to clarify, “That was a different script. It changed thereafter. But when Anand Sir was narrating me this [new script to play Babita Kumari], my ears and eyes kept perking up to the other female role [of Afiya, suffering from cerebral palsy].”

“Anand Sir said he had someone else in mind for it. I went home that day and recorded an audition tape on my iPhone for the part. I went back and showed him the recording on my laptop. It really moved him. That gave me hope, and we kept circling on it, for days.”

“I was so attached to the part [eventually played by Anushka Sharma] that I couldn’t even care if there was anything good in what was being offered to me.”

“It was Shah Rukh who said I was getting too emotionally attached, and that I should trust him, and do the film. That’s how I got a chance to do [Babita]. It’s one of the best roles I’ve ever done.”

These intercuts into some of Katrina’s more challenging parts are essential. If only to explain how she’s delivered arguably her finest role in films thus far. 

That of Maria, in Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas (2024), squarely shouldering a tough, tight plot, primarily set in a South Bombay apartment, flitting between a couple of male characters, while the camera stays on her, almost throughout a stunningly claustrophobic murder mystery! 

It is, in many ways, a culmination of sorts. The person you’d instantly think of in that role is probably Tabu. Katrina agrees, “I think Tabu is fabulous, anyway. But I loved her in [Raghavan’s] Andhadun.”

That said, when Sriram and his co-writer, editor Pooja Ladha Surti, first narrated Merry Christmas to Katrina, she found herself asking several questions to do with the motivations of her character: “It’s at the end of this meeting, Sriram Sir said I should write the backstory of Maria—oh, no, wait, it’s been a while, it wasn’t him.”

“After that narration, I actually wrote down Maria’s backstory on my own, at home. This was during the lockdown. I emailed it to him, and he loved it. We achieved a more in-depth story, based on that. He’s the kind of filmmaker who gives you that space.”

And yet, if you go through a series of interviews with Katrina before the release of Merry Christmas, she appears to repeat one aspect of her time filming the suspense-drama—that she was crying so much, before and during the filmmaking. Strangely, none of the interviewers seem to ask her, why? Sounds awful—why would she have to cry so much?

Katrina laughs, “Some of the crying [during the shoot] was part of the script.” Clearly, that’s not all. Let’s revisit the timeline again then. “Firstly, there was a major time gap from the narration to when the film went on floors, which was literally three and half weeks after I got married [to actor Vicky Kaushal].”

“You’re in this celebratory, jubilant space. There was COVID in between. All I wanted to do was spend time with my husband that we hadn’t had together. Since I’m obsessed with my work, diving into this intense and darker film was getting difficult. In my head, I wasn’t in that zone. But once you realize it’s happening, you just have to dive into the deep end.”

The other thing, Katrina confesses she has, is a loosely streaming sense of “selective memory”: “Now, Sriram Sir had told me, and this got reconfirmed by my manager—but I had totally passed it over my head—that we had to shoot the film, separately, in Tamil as well!”

“One of those things about ignorance being bliss, but it can land you in trouble. Even Sriram Sir hesitated from bringing it up, until four days before he had to remind me, to start the film’s sequences in Tamil; after shooting in Hindi.  

“I tried to convince him not to do it. I went so far as asking him to cast another actress for the Tamil part.” Why so scared? “I’ll tell you why: if this was any other film—take my last four releases—doing it in Tamil all over would be fine.”

“But this is a very conversational film. There are scenes, where there are 15 minutes of only dialogue. That much of talking, when it has to happen again in Tamil is different. That’s when the tears started.”

“The tears of quietness [before that] were for the Hindi portions. Three days, I cried a lot. I was working myself up as well. My [Tamil] dialogue coach, Deepa Venkat, came in, to drop the stress: ‘The moment you hear action, do not think; force yourself; trust what happens!’”

I’ve watched the Hindi and Tamil versions of Merry Christmas. She’s pulled off both breezily, looking equally effortless. 

For most Indians, the mental image/portrait likely to emerge, once they hear the name, Katrina Kaif, is likely to be the unabashed dancing queen from Chikni Chameli, or Sheela Ki Jawani, aimed at the nation’s front rows, looking for carefree, ‘paisa-vasool’ entertainment.

In 2009, Leo Mattel modelled the Indian Barbie on the 10-on-10 Katrina, with a tote bag; then in her mid-20s. She’s been at the top of Bollywood blockbuster scene for two decades. 

Yet, if you sit down to casually chit-chat cinema, series, etc—her eclectic palette could surprise you, sometimes.

For instance, in a clip sent over to me by a friend, before I meet Katrina for this edition of Sit With Hitlist, she’s seated with Vijay Sethupathi, her Tamil co-star from Merry Christmas—casually talking up Vijay’s films, Super Deluxe (2019), and 96 (2018).

Both movies would be considered prohibitively avant-garde by desi-commercial standards. Is that the ‘Vicky Kaushal’ effect on her, I gently tease—referring to how her husband, who made his debut with Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (2015), could be exposing her to another world within Indian cinema! 

Quick to respond, she says, “As a wife, I do pull Vicky’s leg about how he’s such an art-house film buff. And he’s, of course, totally in tune with all the latest shows and films, and what’s being made. That’s where he comes from.”

But, no, so far as the film 96 is concerned, “I got to see it, because I was approached for its Hindi remake.” Super Deluxe is her late-night OTT, as with any other movie-binger. 

Even as an actor, Katrina says, “It’s not like I’ve lived in my own different land. I’ve always been in touch [with all other cinemas].”

“For example, Dibakar Banerjee’s films. It’s another matter that [a film together] couldn’t work out. That was because of me. And that’s destiny. But we’ve been in touch. Until about a year and half ago, I was regularly meeting [director] Vasan Bala, discussing ideas.”

Either way, what’s undeniable with any relationship, let alone marriage, is how one tends to inevitably expand interests and friends’ circles, as a result of the partner. With Vicky (they got married in December, 2021), Katrina says it’s been more with the meeting of large families. 

“I have six sisters. He has a huge family still back in Punjab. Besides, he has a large circle of friends, from college—I think about 20 of them. Some of whom live in New York, so we meet them, when we’re there…” 

Vicky’s father, Sham Kaushal is, of course, an old Bollywood hand—one of the city’s top action directors over decades, who’s equally straddled multiple movie universes within Mumbai; from Black Friday (2004) to Krrish 3 (2013). 

Once you probe further, you realize Katrina isn’t as hung up in her head over off-stream and mainstream—the distinction isn’t as marked, or she hasn’t cared to creatively define it. 

For instance, she says, “I want to portray myself in a new way now. I don’t wish to repeat myself too much. In several scenarios, I myself feel repetitive and bored. I’m pretty sure, the audiences will, too. I’m no more the 19-year-old, who entered this industry.” 

At the same time, she’s clear, her big, 2023 release, Tiger 3, the commercial hat-trick instalment of the Salman blast-fest checks all of those novelty boxes: “Tiger 3 belongs to the amazing franchise—the space that gives me joy. It’s not repetitive at all. I found the way [director] Maneesh [Sharma] explored [lead character] Zoya’s backstory was really brave, within an action blockbuster. That’s a side of me close to my heart—I love the female action genre.”

Likewise, with dance, she adds, “When I walked into Dhoom 3, those songs, and dancing to them as a circus performer, looking athletic—that’s been my dream and passion; maybe it’s not someone else’s. Rehearsals in those dance halls is my solace. That’s who I am.”

The film New York indeed provided her a fresher “milieu”, but the film that brought her up to skill as an actor, a gamechanger of sorts, she reasons, was Vipul Shah’s Namastey London (2007): “Even though it was comical, with a romcom tone to it; it was such a great character, and story. Not the typical East meets West.”

In Namastey London, Katrina paired opposite Akshay Kumar, the other co-star, besides Salman, she’s delivered a string of roaring commercial successes with. 

She thinks she’s done more films with Akshay than Salman; starting to count them on her fingertips, while this can be googled in a second. Quick search results in a tie, Salman: 7, Akshay: 7. 

Besides the obvious longevity of their respective careers—both Salman and Akshay have been maxing mainstream box-office for over three decades—something she can lay claim to herself, I ask Katrina to decode these two superstars, in terms of how different they are to be on set with, as actors. 

She says, “It’s just the morning and night thing—who you see more daylight with. With Akshay [a morning person], I just have to request him for a later call-time on the set. With Salman, it’s the opposite.”

“I have to ask Salman, ‘Please come early, no?’ That apart, they’re two totally different individuals. While it doesn’t look it, Salman is always thinking of the larger story of a film, rather than the scene at hand alone. With Akshay, there’s a lot more improvisation.”

Either way, her own riffing off the actors’ energies on shoot doesn’t change: “I’m not focused on what my co-actor is doing. I come prepared to the set. That’s what I do on my own. And then I incorporate that with the director and co-actor.” 

To be honest, I tell Katrina, I was a little apprehensive myself, stepping into this interview. Not for the lack of prep, of course. And she’s perfectly genial, even genuinely happy/goofy, to converse with. 

It’s just that she may not be the most giving of all interviewees, when it comes to delving further into her life, outside films, or her world, before films. 

Even as the intention isn’t to pry on a private life; only to shine a better torch on a public figure. And so be it. A decade ago, I tell her, I had been commissioned by Caravan, a magazine of longform journalism to write a 7,000-word piece (way over twice the size of this profile) on Katrina.

I was drawing a complete blank, for days. Choosing therefore to fill up the space with more of context-setting, instead—history of Anglo-Indians in Bollywood; shift from silent cinema to talkies; the anatomy of the Hindi film dance; a growing expat sub-culture of heroines in desi-mainstream, etc. 

While I had chatted with Katrina for a few hours for the piece, there were no expository personal anecdotes, at all. I had asked her then if I could speak to her British mother (Suzanne Turquotte), about her growing up years. She texted back, “Could we rather not?” Totally respect that, of course. 

Yet, for a desi pop-culture story, there is none that matches Katrina’s scale—for someone who landed in Bombay, from London, in her late teens, with a friend. 

Had only watched one Bollywood film (SRK-starrer, Asoka; 2001), until she made her own film debut, a couple of years later. She knew no one in town, upon arrival. She knew not a word of Hindi, before aspiring to be the quintessential Hindi film heroine, and inching towards the top-spot, soon after. 

No, seriously, how? Let’s attempt a step-by-step, still. Even before she got a movie gig, Katrina had landed a contract with L’Oreal, which means she was a successful model, already. But, she says, “My heart was always here, in films. I don’t know how.” Target set, surely what followed was perseverance. 

She says she would start her day at 6 am, to attend kathak classes, until noon, in a “small, non-AC room, with Guruji Veeru Krishnan—Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta were the seniors [in class].” 

With Hindi, actor Jackie Shroff advised her to master the Devnagari script: “On the set, those days, often you’d be handed the dialogues, right before shoot. I didn’t want to be in a position, where I’m wondering what to do. The base in Devnagari saved me. There is then nothing complex [in the learning of the language].”

But beyond all of the above, it was, as Katrina puts it, “Naivete and innocence of the times. Barely at 17, I saw nothing as difficult back then. Today, I would say impossible to the same things. Which is strange. I guess that’s what happens when you have nothing to lose. At this point, of course, I have other goals—but I’ve achieved all that I’d set out to do. Yet, criticism would hurt and affect me far more.”

When she was starting out, though, “An instance, I remember, from a South Indian film, with Venkatesh [Malliswari, 2004]— I was shooting a song, and there was someone on the set, yelling, ‘This girl can’t dance.’  I’ve had people telling me to my face: ‘You will not make it. You won’t succeed.’ Somehow, I wasn’t pained. Never felt sensitive about it. For me, it was about taking in the info. It didn’t penetrate me to stop.”

“I would sit and cry, but believe in the process in the healthiest way; work a little harder to perfect my craft. Eventually, I worked with all those same people who said, ‘We won’t take you in our films!’”

In Bollywood, David Dhawan’s Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya (2005) was her second film, and her first hit (Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar must count as a cameo). 

She debuted disastrously with Kaizad Gustad’s Boom (2003), the year’s most anticipated movie—albeit a film so deliciously bad, that it must rank up there among the greats. 

As always, bad movies make for the most fun reviews—essentially, stand-up comedy on text/print. That review fetched me the job as a permanent film critic, I tell Katrina, off-record. Unwittingly, I owe her one!

Practically everyone involved with Boom pelted eggs on it, in  public, post-release. Not sure about Bo Derek (also in the cast), certainly Amitabh Bachchan; also, Salman Rushdie (his girlfriend, then, Padma Lakshmi, was in the film). Katrina hasn’t said a word on it since. And she continues to maintain that stony silence. Respect her choice, of course. 

Was it Tolstoy, who roughly said, a great story is one of two things—a man sets off on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. Katrina is both those splendid stories. 

I offer an unsolicited advice—that she should someday write that story. Totally unfiltered, just the way she saw it, with all those things she’s kept to herself since. 

She says, “No, thank you. Let’s leave some things unwritten. What I want said is the work I have done, and the work that I hope to leave behind.”

‘I work on myself. I am a liver.’ These lines by Orhan Awatramani aka Orry in his earlier interviews became quite famous. And they continue to define his personality. A social media sensation, a global fashion influencer and Bollywood’s Gen-Z BFF, Orry just came, smiled, posed, got papped and became the most talked-about person on social media. So, it’d be right to say that 2023 saw him everywhere — from parties, events and award shows to pap pages and all over Instagram. As we settle down for a chat during Orry’s recent visit to Delhi on a chilly afternoon, he reflects on the year.

Ask if he agrees that he got more than what he expected in terms of all the love and fandom that came his way, and the 24-year-old says, “I wouldn’t say the year has been more than what I expected. I wouldn’t say less either. I had no expectations. And when you expect nothing, anything you get is something. I didn’t go out and give that ‘Work on myself interview’ thinking that, ‘Oh, I’ve to say it and it’ll go viral’. And then that ‘liver’ interview happened. But that was just me being me and talking the way I talk.”

But Orry had become a pap favourite even before those interviews happened. While many celebs tip off the paparazzi about their whereabouts these days and then act surprised on spotting them at the airport or outside the gym, Orry feels there’s nothing wrong in calling them. He admits having done that so many times.

“Firstly, I have a giant blue Mercedes G Wagon, which is really hard to miss,” he says, adding, “I don’t need to call the paps if I’m at a restaurant or if I’m pulling up. But I’m not going to lie. Have I called them before? Of course I have.”

He continues, “If I like my outfit, I’m looking great and I want to get pictured, I’d call them. Also, whether you call them or not, at some point, you’re going to get clicked. So, I don’t feel any shame in calling them. If I’m going for a party, I’d rather get photographed entering when I’m looking lovely, rather than when I’m exiting — sweaty, wasted or drunk like a troll walking out of the restaurant. Having said that, 99% of the time, I haven’t called them.”

“When you make a public profile, you make yourself a personality; you’ve given up the right to privacy. You can’t then complain that people are making fun of you. So, when I see young guys making videos and content on me, it’s hilarious, I find it very creative, and I often meet them for pictures.”

With her recent acting debut, Khushi Kapoor is the talk of the town. As we reach her Mumbai home for an exclusive Christmas shoot, the actor welcomes us warmly. Dressed immaculately, the 23-year-old manages to take time out in-between the shots to play with her pets, Panda and Mochi. Excerpts from the chat:

I link Christmas to a lot of food! And then spending time with my family and friends. We are putting up a tree for the first time in many years.

When we were kids, we would do that. Right now, everyone is busy — me, Janhvi (Kapoor; sister), Anshula (Kapoor; sister), we are all working. It is hard to coordinate everyone’s dates for a vacation.

I hope to keep working, which is my main goal right now. I am content with how things are going. I just want to keep working and growing. That’s my wish for 2024.

A lunch or dinner with friends. This time too, that’s my plan for the day — baking some cookies at home and being in fun Christmas pyjamas, as I am a homebody.

I am feeling good. I am glad it is finally out for people to watch. I have worked on it for a very long time, and put in efforts. I don’t seek out reviews, I saw a few of them. I try not to get into reading every single thing, because there are a lot of people ready to hate on it for various other reasons. For my own sanity, I wanted to stay away from that.

Having done several Indian and international projects to carve a niche for himself as an actor, Ali Fazal is set to become the first mainstream Indian actor to make his off-Broadway debut, in New York City (USA), we have exclusively learnt. An excited Fazal says, “It’s a dream come true. I’m thrilled to embark on this new journey.”

While he has done theatre work before, the 36-year-old will make his off-Broadway debut in an adaptation of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. The play will be directed by Alexander Malichnikov and has a limited run of four weeks. “It’s an adaptation of the iconic play written at the end of the 19th century. You always see an adapted version of it and that’s the beauty of Chekhov; you can adapt it to whichever time [period] you are in,” explains the actor, who will begin rehearsals in October.

What makes this “special yet challenging” is the fact that the Kandahar actor is returning to the stage after an extended gap. However, he sees it as an “opportunity to break stereotypes”.

He says, “Cinema spoils you sometimes. People keep putting you in boxes and somebody else decides our fate. I remember there were so many attempts to stereotype me, but I always try to break out of those. So, if this (doing an off-Broadway play) helps me break a stereotype, why not?”

Ask if this will shape his career trajectory and Fazal says, “I don’t know how it will shape the rest of my career. But, it’s one thing I want to check off my list.”

Actor-couple Jay Bhanushali and Mahhi Vij’s daughter, Tara Bhanushali, turned four recently. And she got a feature on New York’s Times Square billboard as a birthday gift from a fan! The gesture left dad, Jay, overwhelmed. “I expected something like this for myself, not my daughter!” he laughs.

Tara’s video that played on the billboard has gone viral since. “Even I couldn’t have planned for such a beautiful gift for my daughter,” admits Jay, adding, “I’m really happy that my baby is so blessed!”

The 38-year-old actor tells us that he thought it was a prank when one of his fans from the US reached out to him at first. “One fan expressed the desire to do something special for her birthday and sought our permission. We were confused about it but agreed. Later, we received a message saying that the fan had booked time slots in Times Square where her videos would play every hour. We didn’t take it seriously; we thought it might be a prank! But when we saw the videos, we were so surprised, it made us emotional,” recounts Jay, who regrets missing Tara’s reaction on the videos as he is currently shooting in Gujarat.

“I don’t know if she realizes [right now] how big this is. She is just four and doesn’t understand what being on the Billboard means,” adds the Hate Story 2 (2014) actor.

Given that Tara enjoys massive popularity on social media and her reels often go viral, Jay tries his best to make his daughter understand the “meaning and responsibility” of having such a large fan following. 

“I tell her that they are her well-wishers. At times, one might take having fans for granted, but having well-wishers is special. I’ve even told her that she has a bigger fan following than her father, and I’m super proud of that,” he ends.

Vir Das has unveiled his most ambitious world tour to date, titled Mind Fool. With a career that has skyrocketed in recent years, he has firmly established himself as one of the foremost international comedians, coming from India.

Spanning an impressive 33 countries, the Mind Fool world tour will take Das to some of the most iconic venues worldwide. Audiences can expect unforgettable performances at legendary locations including Carnegie Hall in New York, Opera House in Sydney, The Apollo in London, The Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, Dubai Opera in Dubai, and The Esplanade in Singapore, to name just a few. This lineup of prestigious venues sets the tour apart and solidifies Das’s status as a truly international comedian.

Mind Fool isn’t limited to these world-renowned destinations. The tour will also make its way to various other cities, showcasing Das’s unique brand of humor in Melbourne, Jakarta, Seattle, Cairo, Muscat, Tokyo, Auckland, and many more. There are 35 Indian cities, on the list as well. Kicking off in September 2023, the tour will be running until mid-2024.

Das says, “I am beyond excited to embark on the Mind Fool world tour, which promises to be a monumental milestone for Indian comedy. It’s a privilege to be recognized as an international comedian and to have the opportunity to perform at renowned venues like Carnegie Hall, Opera House, The Apollo, and The Kennedy Centre. This tour is not just about me; it’s about shining a spotlight on the incredible talent within the Indian comedy scene and inspiring artists around the world. Get ready for an unforgettable comedy extravaganza that will transcend borders and bring laughter to audiences across the globe.”

Often, filmmakers’ creations are inspired by their personal lives. Renowned chef-turned-director Vikas Khanna’s next, Imaginary Rain, too stems from an intimate part of his life. The film, which is adapted from his novel of the same name, is borrowed from his grandmother’s journey.

Shabana Azmi, who plays the protagonist, begins, “Beeji, Vikas’s grandmother, ran a small restaurant in New York where she was not respected because she was a woman. Also, there was no respect for Indian cuisine at the time. How she goes from there to hitting the headlines of The New York Times [forms the story].”

The senior actor has often joked about her lack of culinary skills. Playing a chef-restaurateur hasn’t come easy. “Of course, I had to take lessons from Vikas,” she exclaims. “He is so particular even about how you hold the vegetable to get the right cut. He even showed me how to peel potatoes. What is most inspiring about Vikas is his passion for life and food. His desire to put Indian cuisine on the world map [drove him] to become the first Indian Michelin star chef.”

The second schedule of the drama, which also stars Prateik Babbar and Kanwaljit Singh, is slated for June.

Azmi and Khanna’s equation goes well beyond the movie. Keen to raise funds for the actor’s NGO Mijwan Welfare Society, the chef-director has tied up with SpiceJet airlines to whip up culinary delights as part of the on-board menu. The sale proceeds will go to the NGO.

Delighted by his gesture, Azmi says, “Vikas helped us immensely during the pandemic. He has been working on the SpiceJet initiative quietly for six months, and I only got to know about it the day before its launch.”

Nidhi Subbaiah describes herself as an “actor, singer and decorated sailor” on her social media handles. In fact, her first tryst with fame did not come from modelling or acting, but after she won two gold medals for Karnataka as a sailor. She tells us how sailing has always been her first love, and after all these years, she has now been making it a point to take time out and sail, whenever she gets the time and opportunity.

“I first got into sailing during my first year of PUC and had dreams of pursuing it professionally too. I even had plans of training for the Olympics. But my acting career took off and I could not spend much time out there,” she says.

The actress adds, “However, I have got back to it in a big way. I have been sailing actively for the past year and a half. I head to Mysuru every time I get a break from shoot schedules to sail at the RMSC (Royal Mysore Sailing Club). In fact, I have introduced a lot of my friends and family to it as well. I sail whenever I am presented with an opportunity, especially during my travels. I made the most of it when I was travelling in Italy, Thailand and Mexico. Thailand happened first, in 2015, then Italy in 2017 and a year later, Mexico. Though I did go to New York in 2019, I did not get an opportunity to sail, unfortunately.”

Though, Nidhi adds, the sport is not as easy as or even as glamourous as it may look in pictures. “It is hard work, but luckily something I seem to have the knack for. It is also strenuous, one sets sail in the morning and comes back only in the evening, I used to get totally tanned after spending so much time out in the sun,” she says. “I’m like nature’s child, and I love being out there in the sun!”

S S Karthikeya, line producer and son of director S S Rajamouli, recently set the record straight on the controversy surrounding the promotion of RRR ahead of the Oscars. In a recent interview, he clarified that the team spent Rs. 8.50 crore on promoting the film in the US, not the Rs. 80 crore claimed by filmmaker Thammareddy Bharadwaj.

Before the Oscars, there was a massive controversy following Thammareddy Bharadwaj’s allegation that “the team spent Rs. 80 crores” on promoting the film in the US. This led to criticism casting aspersions about the legitimacy of RRR’s Oscar campaign.

Karthikeya shot back at the critics saying, “We didn’t have a huge studio backing us like some of the other nominees in the race, so everything came out of our pocket. Our initial plan was to spend Rs. 5 crores to generate interest in the film. We divided the campaign into three phases and spent Rs. 2.5-3 crores just in the first phase.”

Karthikeya explained that the money went towards social media campaigns, email blasts, paper advertisements, and most importantly, screenings in New York and Los Angeles.

Karthikeya said, “We had two PR teams in New York and one in Los Angeles ensuring we were getting good press coverage. The second phase was the nominations, and though we thought we could wrap it up in under Rs. 6 crores, it cost us Rs. 8.5 cores in total.”

Clarifying that the team did buy tickets to the Oscars, Karthikeya said, “Mr NTR, Mr Ram Charan, Prem Rakshith, Kaala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj were invitees. Keeravaani babai and Chandrabose garu were the nominees. For the rest of us, the nominees had to write an email to the Academy, requesting them to let us attend. We bought tickets on the lower level for $1500 each and on top for $750 each.”

Karthikeya added, “RRR became so huge, it became a phenomenon. But thinking we could buy an Oscar is a joke, it’s a 95-year-old credible institution. You can’t buy the audience’s love or what Steven Spielberg or James Cameron said about the movie. They’ll say what they want to say. ”

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Ever since the team behind the film RRR (2022) returned from the Academy Awards, reports about them having spent Rs. 80 crore on the Oscars campaign have been doing the rounds. Addressing these in a recent interview, filmmaker S S Rajamouli’s son, producer SS Karthikeya, said, “An Oscar can’t be bought. People’s love can’t be bought.”

In a conversation with Galatta Plus, he explained that makers spend on a campaign to get their films noticed. But, the amount being reported wasn’t accurate. “We wanted to wrap up things in Rs. 5 crores. But we ended up spending Rs. 8.5 crores on the campaign. Special screenings were arranged in a couple of cities in the USA. We thought we needed more shows in New York, where we were lagging behind,” he said.

There were also reports about the team spending $2,500 to attend the Oscar ceremony. On how much was actually spent, Karthikeya clarified, “People like Ram Charan, Jr NTR (actors), Prem Rakshit (choreographer), Kaala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj (singers), MM Keeravani (composer) and Chandrabose (lyricist) were officially invited. Each of these nominees have a few seats that they can accommodate for people they’d like to bring. But, they have to send out a mail to the Academy and tell them who they’re bringing along. So, there are classes of seats and they have to be paid for. We paid around $1,500 per seat in the lower level and $750 per seat for the top level. That’s about it.”

RRR, which earned over Rs. 1,200 crores globally during its theatrical run, is the first Indian production to bag an Oscar for Best Original Song.

There may have been umpteen occasions on which this reporter has interacted with Hariharan and Leslee Lewis in the last few years, none of which, however, brought them together to discuss their work as the Colonial Cousins. “We do a lot of our own stuff,” says Lewis, who has spent a fair share of time reinventing his style of music, of late. Hariharan too, has been investing time in the studio, working on different sounds. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival festival, however, brought them together yesterday. Days ahead of their performance, they turned up at the mid-day office to walk down memory lane.

Edited excerpts from the interview. 

Leslee: Well, the Colonial Cousins are colonial, and so is the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival festival, which is all about art and music. Also, we’ve not played in Mumbai.

Hariharan: Mumbai’s crowd is different. At a festival like KG, there are no tickets [for our show], so people will walk in, and will stay to watch us, if they are interested. We’ll relive the time capsule of the ’90s.

Hariharan: We did perform abroad, and did online shows during [the lockdown], but we were not together. You were busy with your album, The White Album, which is a great one. During COVID, I also recorded three albums, two of which centred around ghazals. In the last two years, things have been [good], in the studio. 

Leslee: I think that people think we have split. They believe Colonial Cousins is no longer active. That’s a perception people have. 

Hariharan: Colonial Cousins is popular, but we have a particular set of listeners [who like our music]. People who like classical music appreciate our sounds. The Indian elements of our music are traditional. But [our] songs are a bit more funky. So, this is a niche. 

Leslee: I remember, I was in Manhattan, New York, and walked into a record store to see if our albums were available. The person at the counter came up to me and asked me if I was Leslee Lewis. When I asked him how he identified me, he said ours was the most sold album in the world music space, and hence, my face was familiar. 

Hariharan: We also have good sales in Germany. 

Leslee: Yes, we do. A lot of them were pirated too. But you need certain sponsors or brands willing to promote this music. 

Leslee: You were working on a jingle. I was composing it, and you were singing it. I recall, I started jamming, and you joined in. Most classical singers sing in one scale. So I stuck to one scale and kept hearing you sing. But then, I decided to change it and use jazz. And instead of stopping, you continued to sing along to the music. Then, I used country and western music, and you kept going with the flow. If you remember, each person in the studio dropped what they were doing and sat on the floor to listen to us. In a way, that was our first performance. Eventually we resumed working on the jingle, but you told me that we should do something about our [collaboration]. 

Hariharan: We had been considering a lot of Sanskrit names, and also [those from the] Ramayan. We even thought of Gayatri. But, none of them fit the bill, because we also had fun songs that we were working on. I was in London meeting someone who told me that his British friends called each other colonial cousins. And the first thing I thought was how well this fit. 

Leslee: I remember, when you told me the name, I was so upset that you got it, and I didn’t. 

Leslee: There are commercial moments, like being on MTV Unplugged in London, and singing Krishna at the Billboard [Awards] and watching the reactions to it. Getting the MTV Viewers’ Choice Award at Radio City in New York was also special. But, artistically too, we have had great moments. I remember, we were performing Indian rain, and you wanted to sing the entire song, and, I thought I should sing the English portions. But you [were adamant], so, I agreed. When you sang it, that was an amazing moment for me, because I realized that [we should] always favour the music. 

Hariharan: In my case, I think it is the wonderful people we met during our time in London. We were connected with Adrian, who is a [prominent] producer, and he had great musicians and recordists [working at his studio], which he made available to us. That’s why we call [the song] Adrian’s Angel. Some of the biggest musicians and backing [vocalists], who were singing for the top UK acts, [were accessible to us]. To get that sound for our first album was great. It was a blessing. 

Leslee: I also remember being in the first-class lounge in London, and being approached by an elderly man who recognized us. And when we asked him if he consumed our work, he said, ‘Yea, Elton and I love your music.’ When we asked him who he was referring to, he said, ‘Yea, I am Elton John’s manager.’ 

Hariharan: My philosophy about creating music is that the artiste should create what [he] wants to. You are the giver, and you need to have the conviction. You don’t need to become the receiver. Be popular, sure, but you need to become an artiste, in the true sense. A lot of people concentrate on [creating] versions [of songs], but you have to create your own sounds, and your own song. While creating music, whether involving vocals or instruments, your soul is trying to say something, and you are transmitting energy. If you don’t do this, where’s your soul? I know views are important, but if you create good music, you’ll get all of that anyway. 

Hariharan: It’s easier to be alone. It’s tricky to be together. You have to be in sync with the other person, both, in the way you think, and also from your heart and soul. Your likings, musicality, temperaments, they all need to match. You can have dissimilarities, but they should be to a lesser extent. I’d say, hang out with each other for a few months, write things together, and do a project. Then, if you feel good, consider collaborating. You need to be compatible. 

Leslee: If you don’t have a liking for each other, then there will be trouble. When we began, we were already [established] names. When we came together, we did it for fun. Sometimes, we do our own thing. You have to be together, because it is like a marriage. Today Hariharan is my brother. We are not at each other’s homes all the time, but we are together. In him, I found someone who became my guide and friend. We teach each other different things.