Actor Huma Qureshi and her beau, actor and acting coach Rachit Singh, who’ve largely kept their relationship private, are now gearing up for the next step. After details of their US engagement, we have exclusively learnt that the couple is reportedly planning a wedding later this year.

A source reveals, “They are planning an intimate October end wedding as of now and the preparations have already begun,” adding, “The wedding will be followed by a big reception for the (film) industry (people). As of now, it’s most probably looking like (it will take place in) Mumbai.”

The couple sparked engagement buzz after appearing together at actor Sonakshi Sinha’s wedding festivities in 2024 and later the screening of Thamma (2025). Back in September 2025, a source had shared, “He (Rachit) proposed to her in an intimate setting in the US and she said yes… they are yet to decide when to make it official.”

Their recent joint appearance at the Mumbai airport has only added to the excitement around what’s coming next.

What will be the international audience’s verdict? That’s what many were wondering as filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari readied to take Ramayana: Part One to CinemaCon 2026. With the latest edition of CinemaCon kicking off yesterday, it turns out the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash-led magnum opus isn’t the only Indian film on the slate. Yash has gone to the Las Vegas exhibition with another of his ambitious movies — Toxic: A Fairy-tale For Grown-ups.

CinemaCon is among the biggest international film exhibitions known for connecting filmmakers and distributors from around the world. Taking director Geetu Mohandas’s movie to the event shows the actor’s ambition for the project.

A source shared, “Yash flew out over the weekend and will be in the US for a week, starting the first round of promotions for Toxic.”

The teams of both movies plan to unveil early footage and promotional material. The source added, “Both Toxic and Ramayana are mounted on a large scale, and CinemaCon provides the right stage to position them internationally.”

World Cups are usually a quadrennial affair. But in Nora Fatehi’s calendar, they are turning out to be a much more frequent event. In February, the actor and dancer performed at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup’s opening ceremony in Mumbai. Is another World Cup outing on the cards? That’s what we’ve heard. mid-day has learnt that Fatehi has been approached to perform at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

According to sources, her act will be held at the Toronto Stadium in Canada on June 12, before the host country plays its opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This has been lined up a day after the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony takes place at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11. 

A source told mid-day, “Nora has been approached to take part in the ceremony before Canada’s first match. As one of the three countries hosting the football World Cup, Canada is planning a grand entertainment launch on June 12. Nora has a busy work schedule in June. So, she is weighing in on the situation. That said, she will most likely perform at FIFA as it’s an extremely prestigious event.”

After she gives her nod, Fatehi will zero in on the songs she will be shaking a leg to.

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If things work out, this will be Nora Fatehi’s second appearance at the FIFA World Cup. The actor and dancer had performed at the closing ceremony of the 2022 edition in Qatar

As one of the global ambassadors for Louis Vuitton, Deepika Padukone was scheduled to attend the French luxury house’s Fall/Winter show on March 10 in Paris. However, the superstar was a no-show. Sources indicated that the actor had to pull out of the event due to the limited flight operations amid the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

A source told us that the actor was to head to the French capital on March 9, and her team had been in discussion with the fashion house for the past few days about the possibility of her having to cancel the trip.

“Deepika was initially confirmed to attend. She had zeroed in on her outfits and begun fittings for the appearance. But her flight was among the many that were cancelled in the last few days. Also, given that the war has been escalating and affecting several countries across West Asia, she reconsidered whether it was the right time to be travelling,” said the source.

Louis Vuitton, which appointed her as one of its house ambassadors in 2022, was naturally understanding of the situation and respected the actor’s decision.

mid-day contacted Padukone’s team, who didn’t respond till press time.

On a busy street, a young filmmaker walks into traffic. This is a shoot, but for your phone screens. For weeks now, this young crew has been relying on social media and funny content to get the word out about their film. As they criss-cross India in a caravan, their pit stops double up as trailer screenings, NGO visits, and the occasional scenic halt for a quick reel. Months earlier, the same team was detained in Germany for trying to publicize their film without permission.

This is the team of Nukkad Natak, a social drama set to release on February 27 on the big screen. And, they are doing all they can to market and distribute their film from their own pocket.

Another first-time filmmaker, Sriram Emani, is preparing for his film Jam Boy’s world premiere just blocks away from where immigration policies are written in the US. For a film about an Indian immigrant who may never be allowed to leave the country, premiering at the DC Independent Film Festival 2026 in Washington, DC, on February 15, this is no easy feat.

Neither project has a studio or a marketing budget worth the name. Together, Nukkad Natak and Jam Boy offer a sharp snapshot of what making it looks like today.

Directed and produced by Tanmaya Shekhar, Nukkad Natak is an independent Hindi feature. The film follows two college students who are forced to confront life outside their elite campus after being expelled and sent to work with children in a nearby basti. The idea, Shekhar says, came from growing up around an IIT campus and seeing “two Indias existing within a few kilometres of each other, without ever meeting.”

From the start, the film was conceived as independent. “I always knew this would be an indie,” he says. Years of pitching scripts taught him how slow and uncertain the process could be. So, he wrote practically, avoiding scenes he couldn’t afford to shoot. Even then, money ran out more than once. “The day we finished shooting, we didn’t have money to pay all the vendors,” he admits. Fundraising continued long after the camera stopped rolling.

Speaking about the experience, he says casting, especially a 13-year-old girl from the basti, was one of the toughest challenges. The team conducted acting workshops in government schools near their shooting location, slowly building trust. “We didn’t want a preachy film,” Shekhar says. “We wanted something emotional, where people connect to the characters.”

But finishing the film was only half the battle. Releasing it without a producer or distributor meant inventing a new playbook.

That playbook is now playing out on Instagram feeds and city streets. With Architaa Chawla joining as head of marketing and PR in the final months, the team launched a road-trip campaign across India. They are currently visiting cities where the film would screen, meeting audiences directly, performing with children, collaborating with NGOs, and documenting everything online. They have made humorous reels, launched a series called How to Enter Bollywood, created a Hindi alphabet song, and turned their own learning curve into content. “We wanted to connect directly with people,” Chawla explains. “The film itself is called Nukkad Natak. So we went to the nukkad.”

The now-viral Germany arrest happened during an overseas festival run, when the team tried promoting the film on the streets without clearance. Instead of burying the incident, they posted about it. The honesty worked.

Their strategy also leans on data. One key metric: interest numbers on BookMyShow. “If we can show one lakh people are interested,” Shekhar says, “we can tell theatre owners that audiences exist.” For small films competing with star-driven releases, show timings are everything.

Lead actress Molshri says the pressure is constant. “If this doesn’t work, we go home,” she says plainly. “It’s all or nothing.” But the team has also seen something else on the road: Young artists in smaller cities recognising their own futures in this journey. “They tell us, ‘If your film works, maybe we can do this too,’” says Shekhar.

Jam Boy unfolds in a far quieter way. Written, directed, produced, and performed by Sriram Emani, the dystopian short film follows a successful Indian immigrant in the US who begins to realise that freedom, especially the freedom to leave, may be slipping away.

The film draws directly from Emani’s lived experience. “Once I went to the US, I became very hyper aware of all the parts of myself that I was erasing to belong — my name, my food, my accent, my habits. They want your brain, but not your food or your culture. That contradiction felt like something we needed to talk about,” he says. The film asks what happens when the model immigrant story stops feeling like success and becomes a performance.

Emani chose sci-fi because it allows fear to be visualised. In Jam Boy’s world, visas are needed not to enter the US, but to leave it. The anxiety is familiar. “I should not be afraid to get on a flight and see my mom,” he says. “That happens in jail, not in a country you live in.”

Food becomes the film’s emotional anchor, a memory, a resistance, and an identity rolled into one. “They can change how you dress or speak,” Emani says. “But they can’t change how you eat.”

Unlike Nukkad Natak, Jam Boy has taken the festival-first route. The film will premiere in competition at the DC Independent Film Festival on February 15, followed by screenings at the Boston Independent Film Festival and the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival. For Emani, festivals were always a strategy, not an afterthought. “Making the film is only half the work. The other half is figuring out how it enters the world. As a debut filmmaker today, you are not just a storyteller. You are building a community, a distribution strategy, and a conversation.” 

He adds that where a film premieres shapes how it is read. DC, he felt, was the right place to frame the story as emotional rather than partisan, as he wants the film to be a conversation about belonging rather than policy alone. “Film festivals were never just about screening the movie for me. They are where the film starts a conversation with audiences, policymakers, other filmmakers. Where a film premieres becomes part of its identity,” he explains. 

The response has surprised him. “I underestimated how much it would resonate,” he admits. The film has sparked Q&As, community conversations, and interest from programmers and distributors who scout festivals for new voices. Emani sees this as part of a larger shift. As film equipment is cheaper and barriers to entry are lower, it’s increasingly easier to make a film. But attention, however, is harder to hold. “Indie films grow through communities before they grow through algorithms,” he says. Distribution, he believes, is no longer just a business decision but has become storytelling.

What connects Nukkad Natak and Jam Boy isn’t genre or geography, but the absence of a safety net. One film fights for screen space in Indian theatres. The other fights to start a conversation in policy-heavy rooms. Both are navigating an industry where studios feel distant, money is scarce, and visibility has to be earned inch by inch.

Neither route guarantees success, but both reveal a generation of filmmakers refusing to wait for permission. Could these two films act as case studies into how first-time filmmakers can break into the industry? Quite possibly. 

What they do reveal is how independent filmmakers can’t simply rely on their filmmaking skills alone. As Emani puts it, “Independent films today grow through communities before they grow through algorithms. Unless you have very deep pockets for marketing, word of mouth and genuine connection are the only ways forward.”

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Iran after weeks of threats from President Trump. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the goal of the operation is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and “to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” Trump urged Iranians to capitalize on the attack as the “only chance for generations” to take over their government. Israeli officials later confirmed that these Israeli American strikes on Tehran for regime change killed their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with strikes on US bases across the middle east.

Actress Elnaaz Norouzi was born in Iran and stayed there for eight years before moving to Germany and eventually India for work. Barring her parents, her other family members still stay in Iran. She last visited the country in 2018. The actress shares her views about the ongoing war, reflecting on the deep emotional toll it has taken on ordinary Iranians and urges the world to distinguish between the country’s people and its political regime.

Elnaaz, who was a part of the second season of Apple TV's much acclaimed show Tehran, explains, “The conflict has existed for over 40 years. I was born in Tehran. I spent the first eight years of my life in Iran. Barring my parents, many members of my family still live there. I remember everything. My show Tehran captured the Iran-Israel conflict. Iran is not Iraq. When we speak about Iran, I would like to differentiate between the Islamic Republic, which has occupied the country and the people of Iran. Majority of the Iranian people are smart and educated, and their beliefs are not the same as those of the Islamic Republic. At one point, Iran had a great relationship with Israel. If you see Cyrus the Great, the man who wrote the first human rights in the world ever, he was Persian and he freed the Jews from Babylon. We even had a great relationship with USA during the time of Shah (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi). It is just the Islamic Republic that is constantly saying that they want to wipe Israel off the map. A month ago, many Iranians who protested against this regime were killed.”

She adds, “Iran is complex. What the Islamic Republic has done in Iran is not just create one Nicolás Maduro or Saddam Hussein. There is the supreme leader, (the late Khamenei), there are people and parties under him - Hezbollah, there is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), there is the Basij. They support and back the Houthis, Hamas. They are all intertwined. The Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, his name is being chanted all over Iran. People want democracy in Iran. The Gen Z knows exactly what's right for them. The older generation, our grandparents say they made a mistake years ago by asking for a regime change. ‘We had it so good during the times of Shah. It was secular and diverse,” they say.

Elnaaz, who is vocal about her opposition to the Islamic Republic, claims that she would be killed if she went back to Iran under their rule. She says, “I can’t set foot in Iran. If I do, I think they will kill me. I couldn’t go to Iran because of what happened during the 2022 movement, where they killed Mahsa Amini (a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman), whose death in police custody in September 2022, ignited widespread protests. Arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly, her death became a symbol of resistance against oppression. People went on the roads and said, we don't even want this f****** hijab, this is not ours. Back then, I spoke out against Khamenei and the regime, and my family got really worried for my safety. If people die in this war, I'm going to blame the Ayatollah because people have come out multiple times saying we do not want you and they did not leave. It is dictatorship. There are so many political prisoners who are people like you and me. If you speak up, they just put you in prison.”

While it would be naïve to believe that actions by the United States and Israel were carried out ‘in the interest of Iranians', the motivations behind these actions deserve critical examination. Elnaaz says, “For the past 40 years, a large population of Iranians go to sleep and wake up hoping that one day they are going to be freed from this regime. Just like in India, Iran had people from different religions, cultures and communities living there. It was diverse. Iran was never an Islamic country, it was largely Zoroastrian. Iran was Persia and Persia was Eurasian. Before the Arabs came in, Christians, Baha'is, and Russian expatriates lived in Iran. It wasn’t just for Muslims. You had the freedom to wear what you want to wear, say what you want to say. Iran needs democracy to go back to those times.”

It’s a known fact that filmmakers are not allowed to shoot in Tehran, and Elnaaz hopes this changes. She states, “Of course, we have cinema in Tehran. Cinema has helped bring the truth and the voices of people to all over the world. And that has also been the medium that Iranians have used all over the years to speak about the atrocities that are happening in Iran. If you see there are multiple Iranian movies who have won Oscars, you know, and they are all about the terrible life that people are living in Iran. Look at Jafar Panahi, who was just nominated for an Oscar and the Golden Globes, he's not even allowed to film in Tehran anymore. Even our show Tehran was shot in Athens. Cinema can change the way you think so its considered a threat. Iranian people have no idea what freedom of speech is for the last 47 years. It's terrible. And it's so sad that the world has not taken as much notice as it should.”

Elnaaz attributes her life and safety to her parents who chose to migrate to Germany years ago. The rest of her family however still stays in Iran. She says, “It’s a war situation so there’s an internet blackout and I haven't been able to reach my family since yesterday. I hope they are inside their homes and don’t get too excited because of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death. Iranians are getting on roads to celebrate and it risks their life. So I hope they stay indoors.”

To those wondering why didn't they migrate as well, Elnaaz says its not easy. “Leaving your home behind is not easy. Not everyone has the means to move to another country. Filing for asylum is a complex, formal legal process that requires meeting specific criteria. Even the Iranians who have migrated are facing s*** in other countries. So uprooting an entire family from a country is not easy. If you can keep your mouth shut, you can live in Iran. It's still not as retarded as the Taliban. Women can open their businesses. Everyone’s educated but there are no jobs. The inflation is high. Some are taking loans to buy eggs. Survival is an issue unless you have ties with the IRGC or such."

Actor Sadia Khateeb is among the celebrities currently in the Middle East amid ongoing global tensions linked to the US-Iran conflict. She was in Saudi Arabia with her family when air travel in parts of the region was disrupted.

Sharing an update, she tells us, “I am here and completely safe with my family. Amid what’s happening around the world, prayers are all that I can do. My duas are for the world. May everyone be safe.”

Despite the tensions, the 28-year-old is focused on marking a spiritual milestone: her first Umrah (pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Makkah). “This year, Eid will be in Medina with my family, and I can’t wait to experience that with them, we are happy and safely placed at the moment,” she says.

For now, Sadia says she is fully immersed in the holy month of Ramzan with her family. “This comes after two physically demanding years... During promotions of The Diplomat (2025), I had to occasionally break my (Ramzan) fasts during interviews. This year, I’m sharing iftar with my mother,” she ends.

Amid the growing unrest, Iranian-German actor Elnaaz Norouzi speaks exclusively to mid-day about the global turmoil, her stance on assassination, and the deep emotional impact of the conflict. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly assassinated on February 28 in a joint strike by the United States and Israel, dramatically escalating tensions across the West Asia. In response, Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US bases in the region, intensifying the crisis.

The freedom of speech never really existed in Iran and that is why we have so many political prisoners in Iran as well. There are thousands of innocent people who have been imprisoned, tortured, raped because they have spoken against the government. At this point, it has surpassed the point of women and men but yes if we talk about specifically about women, women have almost no rights in Iran starting from the morality police going after them constantly, starting with the fact that as a woman you're not allowed in stadiums. As a woman in court, your statement is half as worth of what a man says. As a woman, you're not allowed to travel without your husband's permission.  As a woman you cannot ask for a divorce easily.

If you ask me as an Iranian, who who was born in Iran, who has lived in Iran, who has lived under his real leadership, who has family who's living under his leadership and who has friends who are living under his leadership, I will tell you that a dictator has been taken out, a terrorist that has taken many many people's lives has been taken out, a person who has chanted and has made millions of Iranians chant 'Death to America' for 47 years has been taken out; a person who's been building nuclear bombs in hiding. To attack the American people and America and the Israelian people in Israel for years and years has been taken out. This is a big win for the whole world; it's just that the world doesn't understand, we understand it because we've lived with it and we know it but unfortunately the people just look at it from one lens and that is 'oh he was a religious leader' but being a religious leader doesn't make you right when you do wrong, right?

I receive a lot of death threats and many people disagree with me, but that brings us back to freedom of speech and the idea of live and let live. That’s all the Iranian people are asking for. We want to live the way we choose, and we are okay letting others live as they wish. The problem is that a narrow mindset is forcing everyone to follow one way of life. This is not against religion. I have many Muslim friends whom I love and respect. Iran is home to Muslims, Christians, Baha’is, Zoroastrians and more. Everyone simply wants equal respect and the freedom to decide for themselves.

He is the son of Ali Khamenei. He is another person that was not elected by the Iranian people. Again, the safety is still at the mark because he has the same views. He supports the same barbaric thoughts that his father had and besides any of that Iranians are saying, we would like to choose our leader ourselves. We don't want supreme leaders. We don't want somebody who we have not chosen. That's the only thing. Since when in a democratic world in 2026 should anybody else decide who rules over 90 million people? The people should be deciding that for themselves and the people have decided they want the crown prince Reza Pahlavi back.

The end of the wars in the West Aisa will come with the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This regime has created unrest across the region by funding proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis with billions taken from our oil and tax money. Iranians don’t benefit from our own resources. When people protested high gas prices in 2019, it was because that wealth was being diverted to Hamas. So once you remove the Islamic Republic of Iran, this regime, the Ayatollahs, once you remove the clerics, there will be peace all over the West Asia because all the funding is going to be gone and all of those terrorist groups will crumble right because they'll not have any resource.

In September, US President Donald Trump reiterated his plan to impose a 100 per cent tariff on all films made outside the US. Even as details about when the tariff will come into effect and how it will impact other film industries remain unclear, Akshay Oberoi — who grew up in the US before moving to India in 2008 to pursue acting — believes there may be a silver lining to it. “It will definitely take a toll, but it may also make us focus on satisfying our own audience instead of chasing global validation,” he says.

The actor, recently seen in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, has two projects lined up in Yash’s Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-ups and Shah Rukh Khan’s King.

Point out that the tariffs may affect the global audience for such big films, and Oberoi analyses, “In Hindi cinema, I think we started losing our core audience. Hindi films were trying too hard to be Hollywood. Characters started feeling like they’d landed from New York instead of being desi. Maybe now we’ll return to entertaining the common man. Trump’s policies are unpredictable, but I’m trying to find a silver lining. Maybe this will push us to create stronger films for our audience.”

Oberoi will soon resume shooting for King. The actor says that director Siddharth Anand was his primary reason to say yes to the action thriller.

“Sid and his team have my loyalty. I didn’t ask any questions, I just showed up. They’ve not only helped my career with Fighter [2024], but are the nicest people in the business.”

Graceful and composed, Meenakshi Seshadri, the star of films like Hero & Damini, was in the city on Sunday to perform at the Durga Puja Carnival on Red Road. On her Bengal connect, she said, “I was born in a town near the Bihar-Bengal border, so I grew up with a Bengali influence. Coming here feels like being back home.” The actress spoke to CT about her break, the roles that defined her and more.

Reflecting on her journey, Meenakshi admitted, “I’ve had a chequered career with more flops than successes.” Yet her role in Damini continues to define her. “People accepted me because, like her, I’ve always stood for what my conscience says is right,” she said.

Her real-life resilience mirrored her character’s: “There was a fallout with the director just as shooting was about to start, and they wanted to replace me, but the situation turned around. Many later echoed what I just said, that Damini was a lot like me by nature. Maybe that’s why the role felt so authentic.”

Looking back at the film that made her a star, Meenakshi recalled Hero’s unexpected rise. “Hero (with Jackie Shroff) was my second film after Painter Babu. Its popularity surprised me. The first few weeks were lukewarm, but then it picked up and ran for a year, even in south Indian cities, which was unheard of.”

She credits its success to filmmaker Subhash Ghai and its timeless appeal. “Indians love romance, dance and drama. Hero had all of that, along with a believable story, that connected with the audience,” said the actress, who danced to Odissi dancer Avirup Sengupta’s choreography at the Durga Puja Carnival.

Candidly reflecting on cinema, Meenakshi said, “These days, the industry has lost freshness in creative work. One person makes a supernatural drama and 30 others blatantly copy it.” However, she believes the industry is  “more professional and hi-tech now.”

On the portrayal of women, she said, “We’ve always had strong female actors, but in the 80s, defined roles were rare.” Though she finds the use of women in suggestive ways vulgar, she is hopeful: “With OTTs creating stronger characters, I hope to make a mark again after years.”

The American dream has lived as vividly in Indian cinema as it has in Hollywood itself. Bollywood has had its Swiss meadows and London skylines, but the United States has always represented something more aspirational. In Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), New York’s skyline and lifestyle are inseparable from the storytelling. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) uses the city’s loneliness and urban pace to frame extra-marital relationships. Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007) is perhaps the ultimate representation of the American dream — fame, cars, and money, and what it means to lose it all.

My Name Is Khan (2010), New York (2009), and English Vinglish (2012), are stories that would make no sense if they were not set in the US, these cities almost becoming characters themselves. English Vinglish famously described Manhattan as aadmi, topi, dhoop ki chhaon (man, hat, tan). When he thinks of Times Square, film commentator Pulkit Kochar doesn’t picture the blinding lights or dazzling billboards. Instead, he remembers, “Salman [Khan] in the song Sau Dard [from Jaan-E-Mann (2006)] crying there.”

“My Name Is Khan encapsulates modern US [culture] like no other movie, with dark themes like racism and gun culture in schools,” says Kochar. “But beyond that also what comes to my mind is Rizwan [Shah Rukh Khan] showing a sunrise spot in San Francisco to Mandira [Kajol] and her immediately proposing marriage to him there,” a reminder of how deeply these cities are stitched into Bollywood’s imagination.

“The American dream’s kind of turned into a nightmare now, na?” laughs culture writer Sucheta Chakraborty, as the week brings a stunning new reality: US President Donald Trump has announced a 100 per cent tariff on all films made outside America. “Our movie-making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other countries, just like stealing candy from a baby,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Every expert we spoke to admitted they are still unsure of how the policy would work in practice. “At this stage, there are more questions than answers. Would the tariff apply to licensing deals? If a US distributor buys rights from an Indian producer, would that distributor then pay tax on the value of the licensing agreement? Or would it be applied on the final product — the DCP, the digital cinema package [the encrypted exhibition copy sent to theatres]?” asks Chakraborty.

The scope is also unclear. Director of Academics at Whistling Woods International Rahul Puri asks, “Does this tariff apply to films shot abroad, or only to films whose production has taken place abroad? If it turns out to be an import tariff — a tariff on films being imported into the US — then yes, it will have a significant impact on Indian films.”

If the first interpretation is to be held true, the move could even hurt Hollywood itself. “About half of the $3.7 billion spent on making 40 of Hollywood’s biggest hits last year was spent outside of America,” says media and entertainment specialist Vanita Kohli-Khandekar. The US is a notoriously expensive shoot location, and recent box office successes like Dune (2021) and its sequel were filmed extensively abroad because of lucrative tax rebates offered by other countries. If the tariff is to take back Hollywood’s stolen candy, how come it hurts Hollywood the most? 

“For India, the US is a secondary market. But it’s Hollywood’s primary market. This policy will hurt them more than us,” says Kohli-Khandekar, suggesting that domestic shooting should be incentivized if the goal is to promote the US as a shooting location.

The implications could be serious. Puri, who is also managing director of Mukta Arts, says, “The Hindi market alone makes around $100 to $150 million a year from the US; that’s what is at stake.”

Kalki 2898 AD (2024) earned US $18.57 million in North America, making it the second highest-grossing Indian film in the region, behind only Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), which grossed at approximately US $20 million. Big budget blockbusters like Jawan (2023), Pathaan (2023), RRR (2022), and Pushpa (2021) also shone in American waters.

“Kalki perhaps did not do as well domestically. It relies on the diaspora audience for that extra bang,” says Puri. Big-ticket spectacles are increasingly struggling to resonate with Indian audiences but continue to draw NRIs to theatres, fuelled by nostalgia.

“The average ticket price in India is about Rs 120, whereas in the US it’s $15 to $20 (Rs 1300 to Rs 1700 approximately). So the overseas market offers a much higher bang for the buck,” Puri explains. “For producers, it’s almost pure profit, with costs mainly for marketing and distribution — not production. That profitability will suddenly be eaten away if such a tariff is applied.”

The US is considered the halo market — the one every film aspires to crack. China is the only other territory that compares in scale. “China allows about 32 foreign-language films a year. Around 18 of those slots are for US films; the rest are shared worldwide,” says Puri.

If America closes its doors, India could pivot harder toward China, where stars like Aamir Khan already enjoy massive followings. “The Indian government has already signalled a thaw in certain areas of its relationship with China,” Puri notes, “There’s no doubt we’ll need to push harder there.” According to him, Trump’s move is “yet another way to squeeze the diaspora”.

Culture wars increasingly blur into political ones under the Trump administration. In 2020, when Parasite won the Oscar, Trump mocked the decision: “What the hell was that all about? We got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that they give them best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know. Let’s get Gone With the Wind. Can we get Gone With the Wind back please?”

The prestigious EGOTs (Emmy, Grammys, Oscar, and Tony Awards) are all American. If all high honours remain American and Trump remains hell-bent on only letting American art win them, it may spell doom for the Indian Oscar dream. 

The policy is especially bad news for Indian indie cinema. These films rarely thrive at home and rely heavily on US screenings to recover costs. In 2023, Kill completed a long festival run before its India release, even premiering in the US first. Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001) became a global phenomenon through festivals before gaining distribution. Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound (2025) created a name for itself through festival runs.

Without the US festival-to-distribution pipeline, many such projects could struggle to exist. “If we won’t get picked up there, maybe indie films will stop going to Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW,” speculates Chakraborty.

She also points to the deeper cultural loss. “Roger Ebert once called cinema an ‘empathy machine’ — a way to step into someone else’s shoes and see from their perspective. With this tariff, we lose that multiplicity of voices, narratives, and viewpoints. It stems from a move toward economic and cultural nationalism, but it also means perspectives outside the dominant narrative will be erased.”

The films that thrive under this policy, Chakraborty warns, will be the ones with the most “homogenized, myopic, inward-looking ‘American’ perspective.” For Indian filmmakers, this could mark a turning point in their long relationship with America. “People from every walk of life are revisiting their relationship with the US in the current climate.

Young filmmakers will look at the US through a different lens,” says Puri, “The allure of Hollywood may just be dying.” “We may have spent years looking at the US in this wide-eyed manner,” adds Chakraborty, “but that quality is getting shattered.” 

The uncertainty spreads across other sectors of filmmaking as well. India’s technical prowess has made it a hub for Hollywood VFX work. Would such collaborations also be hit? What about licensing for streaming platforms? “He’s [Trump] made similar threats before — in May, for instance,” Puri reminds us, “Often, he makes big announcements but later rolls them back. Even if implemented, it usually takes months for the fine print to be worked out. We’ll only know the exact scope when that order comes out.”

Chakraborty wonders whether the way out is collaboration with US-based productions houses, adding, “Even Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light [2024] was an Indo-French co-production. As they say, it takes a village to make a film, right? Different stages of work in these co-productions can also be outsourced.”

Indian-origin American rapper-songwriter Raja Kumari places spirituality at the centre of her music. “I’m bringing it to the forefront and being fearless about it,” says the singer who features on the recently released album Sounds Of Kumbha.

The artiste had signed to a major American label in 2015, but was told she would “get more budget” if she “didn’t drop the bindi”. “Back then, it was about exoticizing who I was, not celebrating it,” the 39-year-old recalls, adding that she felt liberated as an artiste only when she came to India.

“I didn’t want to wear my culture as a costume. I wanted to celebrate it. That’s why, when I came to India, the liberation I felt as an artiste was incredible. Here, I could reference a character like Meera and just name a song after her without over-explaining,” she says.

Raja Kumari believes her “unique” voice gives her an authenticity that sets her apart, and that now drives her projects in India. “My voice is distinct, it pokes through,” she says, insisting that she believes the country today is ready for its sound to travel.

“We do not lack talent. If we build the right infrastructure, Indian music can become an export just like K-pop,” she ends.

President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 100% tariff on films made outside the United States is set to deal a heavy blow to the US revenues of Indian films and their distributors, industry experts said.

Distributors may be forced to raise ticket prices in the US to pass on part of the tariff, which could dent footfalls and erode their revenue share estimates, they said. "To the best of my knowledge, Hollywood derives 60% of its revenues from the rest of the world. This shows the irony of the situation. I think this tariff is likely to impact the last mile consumer a lot," said Pranab Kapadia, director at overseas distribution firm Moviegoers Entertainment.

"The impact of tariff is high ticket prices, which will lower the revenue share of distributors of Indian films, thereby hurting the overall box office potential of Indian films," he added.

Kapadia is known for distributing films of Karan Johar's production house Dharma Productions in the overseas markets.

According to distributors and producers, Hindi films earn 40-60% of their total overseas collection from the US markets. In fact, this year's biggest Hindi blockbuster Saiyaara collected more than $6 million, or about Rs 53 crore, from the North American market itself, making it the third biggest grosser Indian film in the US.

A key concern among distributors is the short window films have in theatres before they get released on streaming platforms. This may make many viewers wait for the OTT release rather than pay much more for watching the film in a theatre, they said.

"Today, there is such a short window between a film which gets released in theatres and then its showcasing on streaming platforms. In this context, a tariff of 100% makes it even more challenging for distributors to bring footfalls in theatres, especially when they must resort to hiking ticket prices to compensate for the tariff," a veteran distributor said on the condition of anonymity.

Producers of mid-and-small-sized films may choose to release their films only on streaming platforms in the US as it may be economically unviable to release them in theatres with high-ticket prices.

"A 100% tariff could wipe out 40% of Indian films' US revenues, but the deeper worry is the audience fallout. With ticket prices soaring to $20, many diaspora families may abandon theatres," said Suniel Wadhwa, cofounder and director of Karmic Films. "This is not just a tariff. It is a cultural barrier. Cinema is India's strongest soft power export to the world," he added.

Big tent-pole Hindi films may still get released in the US markets with high ticket prices.

The importance of the US market for Indian films can be gauged from the size of the Indian diaspora. According to the data from Pew Research Centre, the population of the Indian diaspora in the US is about 5.2 million, reflecting strong business potential for Indian producers especially when seen in the light of revenues in dollar denomination.

Some producers said they are yet not clear about the implications of the tariff.

"I am not clear about what the tariff announcement means. I will have to see the final order to understand the future implications of this tariff," said Shobu Yarlagadda, who produced Telugu film Baahubali and its sequel, which were a smash hit not only in India but also in the US and elsewhere.

On the whole, producers believe that the tariff has the potential to not only wipe out the box-office potential of Indian films in the US markets but also can force Indian producers to reassess and recalibrate the ways in which they make, distribute and market their films, especially big tentpole ones.

Actor Nafisa Ali Sodhi revealed on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 peritoneal cancer and will have to resume chemotherapy. The 68-year-old was first diagnosed with stage 3 peritoneal and ovarian cancer in 2018 and was declared cancer-free the following year.

She shared her PET scan results and an emotional note (see inset) on social media, writing alongside, “A new chapter in my journey from today. I had my PET scan yesterday. So back to chemotherapy as surgery is not possible. Believe me, I love life.”

Speaking to us, Nafisa says that the news came as a shock: “I was all happy, living, and didn’t feel sick at all. Shayad pata hi na chalta. I just somehow agreed to a PET scan and that’s when I found out it’s stage 4 peritoneal cancer and that it has spread across the abdomen, including other parts.”

Doctors have ruled out surgery because it is widespread. “My doctor says medical technology is at its best. They’ve sent my blood sample for further tests to the US to find out what’s the best cure. Since surgery won’t be possible, we will find the course of medication at this stage with the testing of the blood sample,” the actor explains.

Despite the setback, Nafisa’s resolve is unshaken. “It’s back and I will defeat it once more, I’m sure. I didn’t give up then; I will not this time either,” she says, adding that she is preparing for the side effects with positivity.

“I’ve asked the people around me to be ready to see me going bald once again as chemotherapy starts today. I plan to ask my grandchildren to give me a haircut to make it a memory and give cancer the answer that you can never defeat me. For now, I can just ask my universe to create my miracle again.”

In August, the Golden Divas Magical Tour was announced as an eight-city concert across the US headlined by Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Raveena Tandon, and Malaika Arora. But with barely a month left to go before the October concerts, a lot has changed. What had been billed as a celebration of Bollywood’s ’90s dancing divas coming together has now been reduced to solo performances by Arora. While Dixit seems to have dropped out of the Golden Divas Magical Tour and is fronting a solo act, Tandon’s involvement remains uncertain.

Sources close to the project revealed that the decision to cancel the joint appearances stemmed from logistical hurdles. A source told mid-day, “Coordinating the schedules and commitments of the three stars was proving nearly impossible. The timelines, venues, and travel made it unworkable.”

Now, Arora will have solo performances in New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, and San Diego between October 3 and 12. Dixit, who has been touring select cities in the US since last year, has added a new concert to her calendar — at Boston on November 3. The event, being promoted as An Evening with Madhuri Dixit, positions her as the sole attraction.

“This is an added show to her ongoing tour, not part of the Golden Divas concept anymore. But it is with the same production company Worldstar,” the source clarified.

Meanwhile, there is no word on Tandon’s participation, with insiders suggesting that the actor — who is currently shooting for a yet-untitled film — may not have free dates.

mid-day reached out to Worldstar, which didn’t respond till press time.

Why did I change the spelling of my name? It’s about reinventing myself with a fresh energy & vibe. It’s a new role for me, after all

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(L) Priyanka Chopra with Nick Jonas' parents. (R) while promoting Selfiee Akshay Kumar entertained everyone in the private jet with his singing

In 2009, Abhishek Bachchan broke a Guinness World Record by racing to five cities in twelve hours to promote Delhi-6. Years later, in 2016, Priyanka Chopra was juggling shoots for Bajirao Mastani (2015) in Mumbai and Quantico in Los Angeles.

How do the A-list celebrities do it all? One answer: private charters. No long security queues. No baggage belts. No waiting for boarding announcements or getting mobbed at terminals. Just a curb-to-cabin glide that turns a 180-minute airport ordeal into a mere 15-minute pit stop.

“Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a significant surge in celebrity clientele, especially across India, the Middle East and Europe,” says Raaghav Belavadi, founder of private jet operator Hype Luxury. “Celebrities are leveraging private jets for everything from spontaneous business trips and wellness escapes to quick weekend retreats,” he adds.

Sachit Wadhwa, co-founder of Book My Charters, agrees. “There was a time pre-COVID when one could count on fingers the celebrities that chartered… today, even younger actors, musicians, DJs and influencers fly private.”

From bespoke biryani on board to Gulfstream G700s fitted with sleek aesthetics, the skies have never been more exclusive nor more crowded with famous names. Here’s a front-row seat to the rarefied world of celebrity air travel, where time, privacy, and personalization rule the flight plan.

Charter operators say private flights offer unmatched ease and privacy – “you can take off and land whenever you want, there’s no crowds. It's seamless, flexible and contactless travel."

The only requirement? A minimum of three hours’ notice. “We at least need a 3‑hour heads up to arrange for the pilots, the crew, engineers and fueling the aircraft,” Maria explains. In Mumbai, general aviation (private charters) is unavailable during 8–10 am and 5–7:30 pm due to peak commercial traffic.

Once aboard, celebrities avoid delays and distractions. “The car is out and ready on the tarmac. The talent gets out of the jet, gets into the car, and the car is going to the hotel,” says Maria.

Saved hours translate into productivity or rest. “Celebs are using their time on board very productively. Even two hours saved adds up. They conduct meetings, read scripts, or just catch up on rest while flying,” adds Sachit Wadhwa of Book My Charters.

For vacations, celebrities often prefer to bring their pets, and with private charters, animals fly freely in the cabin, not locked away in cargo. “There are some certifications that need to be done before getting the pet onboard. Usually, the pet is carried in a cage until it reaches the aircraft. Once the aircraft takes off, we release the pet and they can enjoy the flight,” shares Akash Nale of Flyyo. This shift reflects a global trend: flying pets in the cabin significantly reduces stress compared to cargo or cramped carriers under seats.

"Food and beverage," says Sachit, "is a big part of the experience." Many celebrities — particularly on Delhi–Hyderabad routes — request signature dishes from favourite restaurants mid-air. One client, despite spending over Rs 50 lakh on a Delhi-Goa return flight, requested poha and Haldiram bhujia instead of a gourmet English breakfast - a surprising but welcome request, says Akash Nale of Flyyo.

For early flights, the norm is plant-based or South Indian breakfasts, while lunch usually consists of light options like hummus or a tikka platter.

When fans see paparazzi photos of Bollywood celebrities breezing through Mumbai’s Kalina airport, they often wonder how stars manage to travel without luggage. "Staff bring the luggage hours earlier because screening takes time. The celebrity just walks through the terminal straight to the aircraft,” Sachit explains. Still, Maria adds, “Security check is compulsory for everyone travelling, even at private terminals.”

A round trip from Delhi to Mumbai and back onboard a Legacy 650 charter typically costs between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh, the range depends on customization, timing, and additional services involved. For events, shoots, or promotions, travel costs are often covered by production houses or event organizers.

None of the Bollywood celebrities owns a private jet, confirms Maria and Sachit. All reports about A-list actors owning charter aircraft are false. There is only one South Indian celebrity who owns an aircraft. Ajay Devgn, during an interview with BookMyShow Unscripted, debunked the rumours of owning an aircraft, "No, not at all. I was planning to buy it and had secured one deal too. But it didn’t go through. So, it is not true.”

Celebrities avoid commercial flights because they crave privacy away from the public glare. “Bollywood is an area of interest for almost everyone… Everyone wants to see what a star is eating, how he behaves when the cameras are not rolling,” explains Sachit, adding, “Privacy and being discreet are the most important aspects of our business. They need time to switch off. Our job is to provide that.”

For celebs who fly private, discretion is built in. As Maria says, “The crew is trained in a way that they will never ask for a selfie or autograph.” Some operators even require crew to sign NDAs. Raaghav adds, “Each movement is orchestrated by operations teams in partnership with airport authorities and private security firms, ensuring zero exposure and complete peace of mind for our clients.”

Private jet travel in India also means dedicated terminals – Kalina in Mumbai and the General Aviation terminal in Delhi – where celebrities can arrive just 10–15 minutes before departure. “With these terminals, celebrity travel is more discreet,” says Sachit.

Celebrity entourages also vet aircraft safety before flying. “Even before the unfortunate Ahmedabad crash, people would enquire about the safety, ‘When was the maintenance done…’ Charter aircraft are regularly serviced and engineered, taken care of just like any commercial aircraft,” says Maria Charles of Skyline Charters.

“Of course, they ask about the safety, and we provide properly maintained aircraft. We have a maintenance agency, and they are taken care of.”

Akash adds, “There are certified engineers who do the necessary checks after every flight. If a minister is flying, the engineer has to be onboard for safety measures.”

For long-haul international routes, especially US-bound, celebrities typically opt for first-class commercial flights, reserving private charters for domestic legs or short-haul travel. As Sachit Wadhwa of Book My Charters explains, “If someone wants to travel from New York to Miami, they would use a charter plane because commercial flights often have luggage restrictions. So, we manage those travels too.”

Many operators offer seamless India–London service, often with a single refuel stop. “We have aircraft that can fly non-stop from India to London and we even do trips to the USA with one stop. That stop is never more than 45 minutes. You just refuel, get fresh food on board, and then take off. Sometimes celebrities don't even realize there's a stop because they sleep through it. They stay onboard during refuelling,” adds Sachit.

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Actor Kartik Aaryan, 34, has denied any involvement with an Independence Day event in Houston (USA) after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) raised concerns over the organizers.

In an official letter, FWICE claimed that the event, Azadi Utsav – The Indian Independence Day, is being organised by Aga’s Restaurant and Catering, a “Pakistani-owned restaurant”. The body further pointed out that the same organisers are also promoting Jashn-e-Azadi, a Pakistan Independence Day celebration, along with a concert by Pakistani singer Atif Aslam.

Responding to that, the actor’s team issued a clarification that read: “Kartik Aaryan is not associated with this event in any capacity. We have contacted the organisers and requested to remove all promotional materials featuring his name and image.”

FWICE’s letter also stated that “the simultaneous promotion of Indian and Pakistani national events by the same establishment not only creates a conflict of interest, but also violates the ongoing national sentiment and directives”.

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, 44, says coping with anxiety after her husband, actor Saif Ali Khan’s stabbing incident at their Mumbai home in January wasn’t easy. “I am still struggling with what it does to see someone there in your child’s room,”

Kareena said during a session at We The Women. Opening up about the incident for the first time, when an armed intruder attacked Saif, 54, near the room of their four-year-old son, Jeh, she added: “It’s common in the US, but in Mumbai, we’ve never really heard about such incidents. We have still not come to terms with it 100%. I was very anxious for the first couple of months. It was very difficult to sleep and get back to normalcy.”

She added that she downplayed the drama for the sake of her sons, Taimur, 8, and Jeh. “I don’t want to live in that fear for my children, because it’s wrong to put that stress on them. It’s been a tough journey to manoeuvre — from fear and anxiety to balancing the fact that I am a mother and wife. I am just happy and thank God that we are safe.”

She went on to recall Jeh’s sweet reaction to the incident, saying that he feels his father is “Batman or Iron Man”. Sharing that “they feel stronger as a unit” now, Kareena hopes her kids “will grow up being resilient because they have seen their father being attacked”.