MUMBAI MIRROR (August 2, 2018)

It’s the season of travel for Bollywood couples. While Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor have been shuttling between Mumbai and Bulgaria for the shoot of Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra, Varun Dhawan whisked girlfriend Natasha Dalal over the weekend to London for a short break.

“Varun and Natasha had been planning this trip for a while now. It couldn’t happen earlier owing to the actor’s work schedule. So, after attending Dinesh Vijan’s birthday party on Friday, they took off to London to spend some quality time together,” a source close to the couple informs Mirror. Upon their return, Varun is scheduled to resume work on Abhishek Varman’s multistarrer Kalank.

During the getaway, Varun and Natasha bumped into the actor’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania director Shashank Khaitan, who was in the Queen’s City with wife Nalini Datta after the release of his last directorial, Dhadak.

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, who will be tying the knot later this year, have failed to evade the eye of netizens. A fan spotted Deepika and subsequently posed for a picture with her in Orlando, also confirming that she was accompanied by her actor-beau. More recently, the couple walked through an amusement park in Florida, hand-in-hand. They were accompanied by Deepika’s younger sister, Anisha. “Ranveer and Deepika are spending some quality time together and are set to return on Friday,” added another source.

Currently on a summer holiday, the exes have moved to Beverly Hills with sons after exploring amusement parks with friends in Orlando
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 5, 2017)

On June 25, actress Sonali Bendre announced that along with her son, Ranveer Behl, she was off on a summer vacation. The duo was joined in sunny Orlando by close friends Hrithik Roshan, his ex-wife Sussanne and their sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan, as well as Swades actress Gayatri Joshi, with her two sons. Sonali took to Twitter to exult, “Studies show that visiting the Disney World actually improves happiness and overall health. Suffice to say, the studies are right.”

It was a planned summer getaway for the kids and their parents who appeared to be having as much fun as the little ones as, with two more friends and their kids, they invaded Disneyland, Pandora – The World of Avatar and the Under The Sea amusement park. At Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure the families explored the island of skulls from the popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. From paintball to adventure rides, they tried it all, spending two happy days in Anaheim, home to the oldest Disney Theme Park that was launched in July 1955.

“Sussanne and Hrithik forgot all about diets, taking the boys for a burgers-and-finger food binge followed by a trip to an open-air shopping centre,” informs a friend. “They have since moved on to Beverly Hills for an extended family vacation and will enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks before heading back to the Bay,” informs a friend.

Hrithik and Sussanne announced their separation in December 2013. Their divorce came through 11 months later in November 2014, ending a 17-year relationship.

However, the childhood sweethearts continued to remain friends and, in an interview to Femina last year, when questioned about the break, Sussanne had said, “We had reached a stage in our lives where I decided that it’s better that we weren’t together. It was important to be aware and not be in a false relationship. We are close (friends). We do chat a lot even though we don’t hang out together anymore. But above all, we are very committed to our children. We are respectful towards each other. When children are involved, it’s important to put our differences aside and protect them.”

The chats slowly extended to celebrating birthdays and festivals together, apart from the occasional film screenings. Of late, they have been going for family holidays in the Maldives and Dubai and now the US with the winsome twosome looking like they are enjoying every minute of each other’s company during these getaways.

Upala KBR (DNA; June 22, 2016)


What happened
First, a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people. Days later, a two-year-old boy was dragged into the water by an alligator at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The boy’s body was discovered two days later.

Nevertheless...
A source close to the actress shares, “Jacqueline was planning a three-day Disney trip when the Orlando shootout took place. However, she won’t cancel her trip as she promised her sister’s son Ethan and she doesn’t want to disappoint him. He is currently visiting her in Miami, where she’s shooting.”

Jackie confirms, “I have never visited Disneyland and am looking forward to the trip with my nephew. My favourite rides are the roller-coasters and bumper cars, so I plan to go on those.” About the Orlando incidents, she says, “These were very unfortunate incidents where innocent people lost their lives. It must be a trying time for their families as well. My deepest condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives.”

Celina Jaitly on the personal loss over the Orlando shooting and the only way to end hate crime
Upala KBR (DNA; June 15, 2016)


How many were there?
Celina says, “I was in Miami last month (May 15) to receive the prestigious Harvey Milk Award (an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California) in Miami. The irony of it was that I gave an emotional speech dedicating the award to two brutally murdered Bangladeshi LGBTQI activists. The Harvey Milk Foundation is the biggest crusader for gay rights which his nephew, Stuart Milk, now runs. It was my contribution to gay and LGBT rights that they were honouring, and a lot of students and achievers attended the event. It still gives me goosebumps to think how many people who were at the awards function were also at the same nightclub in Orlando.”

Unbearable plight
The actress says that she spoke to Stuart post the horrific incident the next day. “He told me that one of the sponsors of the award lost six dear friends in the attack. It is very disheartening and is the biggest hate crimes act of its kind. Why do countries like the USA offer a buffet of guns to such demented minds? I saw on TV that this guy purchased his firearm a week ago. The law is the only thing making people equal, and the law sells guns. When guns fall into people’s hands, they commit the most heinous of crimes — hate crimes. In the Orlando attack, everyone lost someone — parents, sisters, brothers, friends… It was unbearable for me to watch their plight of those who escaped and the trauma on their faces. What legacy are we giving our children?”

Shock and horror
Celina adds that when she first heard about the Orlando attack, her immediate reaction was immense shock followed by horror. “First, I called Charles Radcliffe, who heads the global issues team at the UN Human Rights Office in New York, serves as human rights adviser on sexual orientation and gender identity and directs the global UN Free & Equal campaign against homophobia and transphobia. We were on CNN together and felt that it could have been anyone of us who was in there to support our sons, brothers, sisters, neighbours or family. After a couple of hours, I got so upset and depressed; I switched off the TV. It was such a nasty culmination to an evening where people had gathered to relax and have fun after a hard week of work.”

End hate crime
She continues, “Some of those who went to the nightclub will never return to their homes again. They were targeted because of who they are, and their sexual orientation and that’s so terribly sad and tragic… Hate crimes are interconnected… They are contagious, so they just become bigger. The Orlando incident is a hate crime and an act of terror. Only a few countries like the USA have such open gun laws. This heinous crime will go down in history as one of the biggest hate crimes against the LGBTQI community. The lawmakers must revoke access to guns because the record of these weapons falling into wrong hands seems to be only growing and none instead of self-defense. The law is the only thing capable of making people equal. And safe!”