The Master’s table
Bandra was anything but low-key as cricket royalty turned a casual family brunch into a full-blown scene on Sunday. Sara and Saaniya stepped out with their mums, Anjali Tendulkar and Gaurika Chandhok, while Sachin Tendulkar kept things relaxed — enjoying takoyaki at Tamari as a crowd collected outside
Unhinged Anniversary
If there was ever a doubt that marriage is a long-term hostage situation masquerading as romance, Atul Khatri’s 33rd-anniversary post has settled the score. Forget the ‘roses are red’ routine — Atul went full botanical-erotica, mourning the “nubile young flower” he once was before his wife, Shaguna, allegedly “deplucked every virgin petal” from his body.
Atul Khatri and wife Shaguna
In a tribute that oscillates wildly between a biology lesson and a bank statement, he credits Shaguna for teaching him the essentials: how to sip tea “without slurping on the saucer” and why a marriage isn’t legal without at least six Louis Vuitton bags in her closet. It seems the “birds and the bees” talk was just the appetiser for a life of luxury retail and domestic “ups and downs” — most of which, he cheekily notes, happened “between bedsheets.” Of course, the real tragedy isn’t the deplucked petals — it’s the lost adult film collection, sacrificed at the altar of her shoe space!
As anniversary messages go, this one is chaotic, slightly unhinged, and naturally, ends with a ticket link. After 33 years, the man isn’t just well-married; he’s ‘Well Trained.’ Grab your tickets, people — clearly Atul needs to top up the LV fund.
Weight of expectation
Swara Bhasker is officially done playing nice with the ‘Bounce Back’ brigade — a posse that treats a woman’s postpartum body like a public project in need of renovation. Since welcoming her daughter in 2023, Swara has become a target for trolls who believe talent is inextricably tied to a dress size — especially for an actress. As archaic as that notion is, it remains pervasive, and Swara is having none of it.
Swara Bhasker
Hitting her threshold this past weekend, Swara delivered a masterclass in boundary-setting. “The kind of rage and anger I’ve encountered in the last few years because my body has changed after childbirth — and because I refuse to lose the weight on the timeline of strangers on the internet — is bizarre! Women’s bodies have more purpose than sexualization and being hangers for glamour. After I had a baby, I chose NOT TO BOUNCE BACK,” says the Tanu Weds Manu star.
By refusing to prioritise a gruelling gym schedule over her life as a parent, Swara is exposing the “unintelligent and nasty” double standards of an audience that demands high-level craft while obsessing over a silhouette. She isn’t just defending her weight; she’s defending the right to evolve without apology. It’s a bold rebuttal to conventional beauty standards, essentially telling the world that if you’re looking for her “old self,” she’s moved on — and you should probably move on, too.
“This is an argument to honour our bodies and stop forcing ourselves to remain in boxes we’ve outgrown,” says Swara. We couldn’t agree more, and we’re not alone. From Dia Mirza and Divya Dutta to Saba Ali Khan and Sandhya Mridul, a cadre of feisty contemporaries is standing firmly in her corner. Truth be told, it’s time to stop measuring talent inversely by the inch.
Of robotaxis and rock legends
While he’s back at his desk in Mumbai this morning, we’re still nursing a contact high from Milind Deora’s recent California tour. As much of a diplomatic mission as it was a high-frequency collision between the silicon and the spiritual, his itinerary took him first to San Diego — where he spoke at the United States-India Strategic Partnership Forum West Coast Summit.
Billionaire and philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen, with Milind Deora and Sadhguru
Done navigating trade corridors with the gravity of a seasoned statesman, a “special coincidence” followed at the University of California San Diego: a brush with the Bangash brothers, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash. The cosmic synchronisation was almost too neat — while Milind was with the maestros in Cali, his wife, Pooja Shetty, was at a wedding in Mumbai with Ayaan’s wife, Neema Sharma.
The real crescendo, however, was a soirée in Los Angeles featuring the improbable trinity of Sadhguru, Ringo Starr, and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Apparently, nothing cements Indo-US relations like a Beatle and a Yogi sharing the same LA air. Between catching his first driverless Waymo and rubbing shoulders with rock royalty, Milind is cementing international ties with a mix of mystic wisdom and rock-and-roll rhythm. And to that end, he’s already in the fast lane — no driver required.
The way you make me feel
Those who follow ‘Freddy Birdy’ on Instagram were forewarned about Michael — a movie I’ve been itching to see since it first made headlines in 2023. Calling the film a “test in patience, courage, and endurance,” he lamented that the “plot is thinner than a single roundel of Pringles,” dragging the film to the point where we actually debated buying our tickets. But with Michael Jackson, you don’t stop ’til you get enough — and since you never really get enough, off we went to the cinema on May 1.
Sajid Nadiadwala
At the risk of being called a “moron” by Farah Khan — who, in her signature no-filter style, has already branded critics of the film with that choice label — I have to be honest: Michael is less a gritty, no-holds-barred biopic and more a high-budget montage of recreated music videos. It is sanitised to the point of being sterile, and the narrative cuts to black exactly when you think they’re about to be startin’ somethin’.
I wasn’t the only one feeling the narrative thirst; Roshni Chopra was right there, singing along to every beat but looking just as short-changed when the lights came up at PVR Juhu on Friday. Even as we scrambled out, spotting Warda and Sajid Nadiadwala in the crowd, the question remained: what did a veteran of the ‘big-ticket blockbuster’ think of a film that had all the spectacle but none of the soul?
Roshni Chopra
My take? Go for Jaafar Jackson, who is genuinely haunting in his precision. Go for the music. But if you’re looking for the man behind the myth, keep your expectations lower than a moonwalk. It’s a gorgeous tribute, but as a movie, this one is definitely not a ‘Thriller.’
