Thirteen years after its release, Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger (ETT) has earned an international honour recently – a place at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, alongside legendary works like James Bond films and Mission: Impossible. For Kabir, the feat is “sweet and flattering”.

He shares, “I’ve always said that the success of a film is never about the money it makes at the box office. Of course, that is important, but what really makes a difference is for how long that film is spoken about and how long it captures people’s imagination. Thirteen years after the release of the film, if it is still being spoken about with such love and respect and being given this position, then that’s what true success is.”

Kabir doesn’t believe that this achievement will lead to makers attempting more action films. “Action doesn’t need any more promotion in this country,” he says, adding, “In fact, I have a feeling that there are too many action films happening.”

Kabir goes on to explain that Ek Tha Tiger succeeded because its action was rooted in drama and emotion rather than spectacle alone. “There was a very strong, dramatic reason for the action in the film. The action sequences need to go with the narrative. Then you’re really invested in the action because it becomes a part of the drama and storytelling. No one is going to be wowed by only seeing massive action scenes on screen now. Ultimately, emotions move you. Action films need to get back a little more to the sort of raw action which went along with the storytelling, as opposed to over-the-top action that we are seeing, which has no emotion running through it. We’re just doing it to show grand visuals with VFX and AI,” Kabir says.

While Ek Tha Tiger went on to become a massive success, it also had two successors – Tiger Zinda Hai and Tiger 3. Ask him why he stepped away from the sequels, and he replies, “If you see my filmography, you won’t notice a single sequel in it. I believe sequels are what producers need to do because they create an IP, exploit that IP and the success of that IP. But for a director or a storyteller, there’s a fatigue that comes in with a story. Once I’ve completed that journey, something really compelling needs to pull me back to that. Otherwise, I feel I need to move on and get onto something new. If one were to follow the conventional wisdom of the industry, I would just continue making sequels of all my successful films. There would be like three Tigers and three Bajrangis and maybe another New York. However, that’s not the way that I have been attracted to stories as a director. At the end of the day, even James Bond is not made by the same director every time.”

Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2020)

Hrithik Roshan has cancelled an upcoming engagement in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The 46-year-old actor was to interact with American fans in Chicago, New Jersey, Dallas, San Jose, Washington DC and Atlanta in the course of a nine-day tour, starting April 10. “Hrithik and the organisers will figure out new dates once the global health scenario is stable. The tour stands postponed as of now,” revealed a source close to the development.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s annual concert tour to the US and Canada, organised by actor-filmmaker brother Sohail, has also been put on hold. The 54-year-old actor was to perform in Atlanta, New Jersey, Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, San Jose and Seattle from April 3 to April 12. His team confirmed the news to Mirror, saying, “It is not advisable to travel right now. We will announce fresh dates once the scare subsides.”

Deepali Singh (DNA; June 1, 2019)

It was Mrunal Thakur’s first time in Vienna but the actress who made her debut with the critically-acclaimed Love Sonia last year, wasn’t in the Austrian city for tourism purposes. On Monday, the Tabrez Noorani directorial about the gritty reality of the sex trafficking business was screened at Stadtkino Wien, one of Austria’s oldest cinemas. This screening was organised by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), an independent institution of the OSCE based in Warsaw, Poland. ODIHR has been active in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in the OSCE region since 1999. Later, the film will also be screened in Washington DC on June 9 and in Racine, Chicago on June 13 respectively.

For the one-film-old actress, it was a privilege to meet and interact with representatives of delegations of OSCE participating states, OSCE and UN officials, international experts on trafficking in human beings and law enforcement, representatives of international and civil society organisations working on the topic, survivor leaders and members of the media. “It was wonderful to discuss the issue and talk about ways to combat sex trafficking. We also discussed the filmmaking process with them,” she stated.

As for the response to the screening, Mrunal says it was absolutely wonderful. “One of the comments we got — which I personally loved — was that the film ends on a positive note. I’m glad that people see hope and are ready to fight against sex trafficking,” she said, post the screening in Vienna. The actress, who will be seen next in Super 30 and Batla House, is now looking forward to the next two screenings. “I will be travelling to Washington DC and Racine for the first time. It’s very important for me that the film reaches the audience everywhere because this story deserves to be told. What is even more important is that people are made aware of this issue happening around them, to realise it when they see it happening and to know who to approach,” she added.

Vir Das on kicking off the year-long Loved tour that travels across 25 venues around the world
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 17, 2019)

He may have a busy date diary, but Vir Das is not complaining. The actor-comedian, who has two Netflix originals to his credit, also kicked off his Loved tour earlier this month. While he covered 25 cities with his successful 2017 tour Boarding Das, Das intends to tap into 25 more cities across six continents with his latest year-long world tour.

"Boarding Das was an experiment that worked well. Since people kept writing in and requesting for more shows, we kept adding cities [to the schedule] as we went along. It helped me test my skills in the most unlikely places, as I performed in big venues as well as intimate ones. The Loved tour has been formed from my experiences in those gigs," says Das, who has already performed in two cities in India.

Up next is a stop in Washington DC. Of the cities he is travelling to, the comedian is most excited about Calgary, Winnipeg, Istanbul, New England and San Antonio. "The idea is to expand our base and visit as many cities as we can. Together, between both the tours, we will easily finish over 55 cities."

MID-DAY (January 23, 2017)

Priyanka Chopra expressed her support for the anti-Trump Women’s March that was held in Los Angeles. The march was organised in Washington DC a day after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America.

The 34-year-old actress could not be a part of the peaceful protest due to her busy shooting schedule, but she took to Twitter to extend her support. “So proud of all my sisters and the men that are at the Women’s March. I’m so upset that I couldn't go.”

Priyanka is shooting for her Hollywood debut Baywatch, which stars Dwayne 9 ohnson, Zack Efron and Alexandra Daddario, in Los Angeles.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 18, 2017)

Suresh Mukund on whom Varun Dhawan’s character in the ABCD sequel was modelled is currently in the US with his troupe of dancers, choreographing an act to be performed by the Indian diaspora as part of President elect Donald Trump’s welcome concert on January 19. It will include some hit Bollywood tracks.

Speaking to Mirror from Washington DC, Mukund informs that Varun called to wish him luck just before he flew out. “We will begin with AR Rahman’s 'Jai Ho', followed by Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif’s 'Kala Chashma' from Baar Baar Dekho, Panjabi MC’s 'Mundian Tu Bach Ke' and Salman Khan’s 'Jumme Ki Raat' from Kick. There’s also a South Indian track as the idea is to highlight Indian culture. We have just three days in hand but the dancers are good and the craze for Bollywood songs here is a great boost,” he exults.

Mukund started his journey in a chawl in Nalasopara, going on to win the bronze medal at The World Hip Hop championship in 2015 with his troupe after a narrow miss in 2012. “The movie inspired us to back to San Deigo and return with the medal,” says Mukund who’s expecting a crowd of a million people at the concert.

He goes on to reveal that he will be teaming up with the ABCD director Remo D’souza again for something big and Bollywoodish. He refuses to divulge more.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; October 7, 2014)