Tamil Nadu is a place of dramatic, inevitable soothsayers who are frequently consulted and their electrifying predictions even more frequently published. Vijay’s resident astro (humiliatingly relieved of his government post) has scanned his palm leaves and cowries to predict that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections will send TVK and Vijay to the Centre as PM. Don’t be quick to whack your thighs and pooh pooh this. Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel was quoted extensively in the party-owned TV channel by its MD Singaravadivelan in a candid interview. “TVK will play a pivotal role in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections for bringing together the critical MP numbers…a sweep by Vijay in TN, Keralam, and the other Southern States too. By 2028, TVK will mount its Viswaroopam taking its seat numbers to 60.” Congress and other alliance partners will naturally up their ante. “Panditji is not hinting that alliance will get greedy…or that other parties may see exodus…but it can happen.” Further astro swoop talk …Kavita will wrest power in Telangana, get 10 seats. In AP, the vanquished Jagan may get another 10 MPs. UP’s Akhilesh Yadav, 50 seats.  Dalapathi Vijay whips up a total of 130 plus and the PM ‘s chair. Saving grace …he did not outright claim that Congress will play a cameo/guest role. Do we hear a chorus of OMG chants? Cinema and politics when shaken and stirred by astrology…a high like no other.

The long-simmering public feud between Kangana Ranaut and Taapsee Pannu flared up once again in August 2026, yet this time Taapsee offered a refreshingly mature way out. At the trailer preview of her Netflix film Gandhari in Mumbai, when reporters asked about Kangana’s latest jibes, Taapsee did not retaliate. Instead she turned the mirror on the media itself. “Aap khatam kyun nahi hone dete yeh baat?” she asked. “Koi question puchna hum dono se band karega jab yeh wala, toh yeh issue bhi khatam ho jayega. Aap sab logon ko maza aa raha hai yeh sab dekh ke, isiliye wahi sawaal puch rahe hain. Aise sawaal puchna agar aap band kar dete, toh yeh baat kab ki khatam ho jati.” In plain words: stop asking the two of us the same questions and the controversy will die a natural death. The roots of this “imaginary conflict,” as Taapsee has often described it, go back to 2019. After she praised the trailer of Kangana’s Judgementall Hai Kya without tagging her, Kangana’s sister Rangoli Chandel branded Taapsee a “sasti copy.” The label stuck and returned repeatedly. In 2020, amid the heated nepotism debate following Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, Kangana publicly labelled Taapsee and other outsiders “B-grade actresses” and “needy.” The two women have never even met, yet the narrative of rivalry has been kept alive for seven years. The latest round began when Taapsee, speaking at the India Today Women Summit, observed that their differing opinions simply reflected different upbringings and worldviews. Kangana took offence, accusing Taapsee of ridiculing her parents and background. In Instagram stories she revived the “sasti copy” dig, dismissed Gandhari as a “B-grade film.” In an industry that thrives on endless drama, Taapsee’s calm insistence that silence is the best answer stands out as genuine maturity.

Tukaram Mundhe, the man to respect these days, came, saw, and conquered a packed audience on the Terrace of the Mumbai Press Club at Azad Maidan on Wednesday (Aug 26) afternoon.  It was quite unusual of the Chairman of the Press Club, S Balakrishnan, to prod the Fourth Estate members to give a round of applause, which they are not trained for, to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner. The chairman, who was sweating a quarter of an hour before the scheduled start of the interactive session because of the lack of head count, stoked Mundhe’s ego by saying that in the last few months he had crashed through the popularity chart of cinema superstars, including Amitabh Bachchan. The true-blue journalist clapped hard and long before Mundhe said he is not a celebrity and was only doing a job expected of him as the chief boss of FDA, Maharashtra. He proceeded to educate the curious journalists on the nitty-gritty of the FDA Commissioner’s duties, which have been discussed at national conferences for FDA departments across the country, and that violations in Maharashtra in particular dominated the chatter a couple of years ago. Mundhe, who was asked over one hundred questions, said reading is his hobby and that he would like to go trekking in the Himalayas, time permitting. Mundhe 51, cleared the IAS in 2005 and has been tossed about across the State like a yo-yo over 20 times. He doesn’t discriminate between the haves — the rich and the mighty and have-nots! He was game to field all questions, although he was initially told that his first visit to the watering hole of journalists in Mumbai was only for a chit-chat sort of. The journalists were pleased as punch; a lady even described him as her hero!  

Days before its Netflix premiere, Taapsee Pannu’s Gandhari has exploded into one of the sharpest copyright storms in recent OTT history, and this does not feel like manufactured noise. It feels like a serious allegation that refuses to die. Writer Kalyan Bandi, an IIT Madras alumnus and government inspector, claims he wrote, registered, and pitched a story titled Gandhari as far back as 2019. His concept: a mother who transforms into a fierce, almost divine force while battling a child-trafficking racket. He says he shared the material with Monika Shergill who was then at Voot and now a senior Netflix executive. He registered the treatment with the Screenwriters Association. When Netflix announced Gandhari, written and produced by Kanika Dhillon, with an eerily similar core, Bandi sent a formal legal notice seeking credit and compensation. He has repeatedly said money is secondary; what he wants is acknowledgement that the idea was his. A second writer, Raghav Desai, has also claimed he pitched a near-identical Mahabharata-inspired mother-revenge narrative to the makers in 2024. Two independent claims. Same title. Same emotional spine. Same platform. Kathha Pictures and Kanika Dhillon have issued firm denials, calling the film an original work and the allegations “false and unverified.” Netflix has stated the earlier pitch was “very different.” Yet the optics remain damaging: a registered story, documented outreach to a future Netflix executive, and a high-profile film that lands with the exact same title and thematic DNA. In an industry where ideas routinely circulate without protection, this case cuts deeper. Copyright clarity is rarely black-and-white, but registration, written pitches, and legal notices raise legitimate questions that cannot be dismissed as mere publicity hunger. Whether the film ultimately clears the legal and ethical cloud remains to be seen, but the allegation itself is no longer easy to ignore.

Kite flying is a traditional pastime in Delhi. It seems to have peaked in recent times amidst buzz that PM Modi will reshuffle his Cabinet post BRICS Leaders’ Summit on September 11-12. Speculations are rife about leaders who will join Team Modi with BJP organisation revamped under new BJP chief Nitin Nabin. There is much expectation that some leaders could be moved to Raj Bhavan and Governors who have spent more than two terms — such as Anandiben Patel (UP) and R N Ravi (West Bengal) — could be replaced. Modi’s PMO may also see new faces with his principal secretary Dr P K Mishra — who is not keeping too well — may hang his boots. The Gujarat cadre officer who has been Modi’s key aide since 2014 could be made a Governor. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan could eventually emerge as Principal Secretary. In an interesting development, there is a talk N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Group, may find a place in Team Modi. It gained currency with Chandra’s decision “not to seek another term” when his current tenure ends on February 20, 2027. PM Modi may be keen on having a person of Chandra’s eminence as part of his team because he possesses a rare domain expertise in semiconductor manufacturing, and industrial policy. Modi, it is learnt, was impressed with Chandra for his role in Ram Temple work and in construction of new Parliament building. Though L&T handled the temple’s main structural building and design execution pro bono, Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd acted as the Project Management Consultant for the project. As for the New Parliament, Tata Projects Ltd won the main execution contract for approximately Rs 862 crore. Lead Architect: HCP Design, Planning and Management (led by architect Bimal Patel) designed the triangular complex.

In the high-stakes world of pan-Indian mega films, visibility is oxygen. Yash’s Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is proving the point. Just days before its worldwide release on 26 August, a pre-release event in Hyderabad turned chaotic when a speaker stand collapsed after fans climbed it for a better view, injuring four people. The mishap made national headlines, yet instead of denting momentum, it amplified the film’s presence. Advance bookings were already strong in India and the US; the incident simply poured fuel on an existing fire. Discussions around competing titles such as Batwara 1947, Awarapan 2 and even Hollywood releases like Spiderman: Brand New Day’ quietened as conversations pivoted to Toxic. The trailer’s striking visuals, the dual-role promise, the multilingual scale, shot in English and Kannada, releasing in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and the ambitious global rollout had already created curiosity. The unfortunate Hyderabad episode added an extra layer of real-time urgency and human drama that social media and news cycles thrive on. Suddenly everyone is talking about the film, the star’s on-stage concern for the injured. Positive trailer reactions, star power and booking numbers build the base; unexpected events; whether controversies, crowd chaos or viral clips, keep the title trending. History shows that films which dominate the cultural conversation in the last week often convert curiosity into footfalls. The phrase “any publicity is good publicity” is not cynicism here. Toxic entered the final countdown already armed with strong pre-sales. The Hyderabad incident, however regrettable for those hurt, ensured the title remained impossible to ignore. In the business of big-screen spectacles, that kind of sustained visibility is often the difference between a solid opening and a phenomenon.

Maharashtra woke up this weekend. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde summoned School Education Minister Dada Bhuse for a four-hour marathon review at Nandanvan. The message was unambiguous: work in mission mode, deliver a time-bound plan to modernise schools, strengthen infrastructure, teacher training, nutrition, health checks and community participation. The timing was no coincidence. It came amid the intensifying “School Thik Karo” campaign by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). CJP’s grassroots audits of government schools; exposing overcrowded classrooms, broken facilities, and basic neglect, have spread from Latur and Hingoli to Mumbai and beyond. In Latur, inspections triggered FIRs and local pushback. An attack on CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and his team during a Rajasthan school visit further amplified the national glare. Earlier student agitations linked to CJP had already contributed to the resignation of the Union Education Minister over the NEET controversy. Now the same pressure is forcing state-level corrective action. The parallel with figures like IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe is instructive. Mundhe, known for uncompromising enforcement in the food and drug sector, has repeatedly demonstrated that persistent public and administrative pressure can shake entrenched systems. Both the school movement and such accountability drives share a core logic: when ordinary citizens and determined activists refuse to accept decay as normal, even powerful departments are compelled to respond. Maharashtra’s schools may not match the worst conditions seen elsewhere, but the wake-up call is clear, neglect thrives only until it is made politically costly. Student and civic movements do more than generate headlines. They can extract resignations, force marathon reviews, and push for tangible upgrades. “School Thik Karo” is keeping the pressure on. When people insist that public institutions serve the public, the system is left with little choice but to act. That is the real...

Yash Raj Films has long been synonymous with grand romances and socially rooted dramas. From the eternal love of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to the emotional depth of Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila and Chandni, the banner built its legendary reputation on stories of the heart. Even when it explored other terrains, the core remained elevated emotion and large-scale human drama. Horror was the one major genre it had carefully avoided. That changes now. YRF has announced its first-ever theatrical horror film, with Varun Dhawan in the lead and Abhay Pannu of Rocket Boys fame, directing. The project, slated for a 2027 release, marks a clear policy shift. A production house of this stature does not enter a genre lightly. The decision signals that horror has finally earned mainstream respectability in Indian cinema. The numbers back the move. Recent Hindi successes; Maddock’s Stree franchise, Bhediya, Munjya, Priyadarshan’s Bhoot Bangla and Vikram Bhatt’s Haunted 3D, have proved that audiences, especially the younger generation, are hungry for the genre, whether pure chills or horror-comedy. International hits like Obsession and Backrooms have further elevated the form, moving it into something polished and culturally significant. For YRF, the timing is strategic. After decades of owning romance and emotional storytelling, the studio is adapting to a new audience that finds equal thrill in fear. Pairing a bankable star like Varun Dhawan with a director known for intelligent storytelling shows the banner is not merely chasing a trend but investing in quality within the genre. Horror has always had its loyalists. What is new is its acceptance as a legitimate, commercially viable space that even the most prestigious houses now want to claim. When Yash Raj Films steps into the dark, it is not just a film announcement. It is confirmation that the genre has arrived.

India needs numerical strength and quality in badminton to break the hegemony of the European and Asian countries. The results in the World Championship have to be put down as very disappointing, with the sole consolation being the refreshing display by the women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Teressa Jolly. The Thomas Cup win in 2022 ought to have triggered significant enthusiasm and interest, leading to exponential growth. India has never been a force in the Uber Cup, which China has won 16 times. Clearly, the current system has not been working well to produce champions consistently. Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Saina Nehwal, and P V Sindhu beat all odds and covered themselves with glory, winning the All England Openn Badminton Championships, World, and Olympic medals. A vibrant ecosystem needs to be created to get the best out of singles players like Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, the doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and budding women’s talents like Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, and a handful more in the top-50. The Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games in September-October will be far from a cakewalk for the Indians; China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia will be in full force. Former India player and coach Uday Pawar would like to see three or four more National Centres of Excellence set up across the country. He believes the NCOE in Assam has shown glimpses of developing bright talent. The LA 28 is less than two years away, and those in the top 30 or thereabouts should get the best. Sen had a great chance to topple the top seed in Paris in 2024 and in the bronze medal playoff; he will be keen and eager to make amends at LA28.

The 1968 Tamil film Edhir Neechal (Swimming against the tide) starring Sowcar Janaki was talked about for long, after release. Director K Balachander had that magical creativity which could grip audience interest, even with the simplest of stories …middle class ethos and characters straight out of life. A simple theme was immortalised by Sowcar Janaki by her talent for emoting, comedy, drama and expressions …no director was needed for Janaki to live her roles. But the conversational song and drama, Aduthaathu Ambujam turned out to be an all-time hit, with Janaki comparing her budget driven life to her neighbour Ambujam’s lavish indulgence …Pattu Mami and Kittu Mama belting out the eternal middle-class conundrum…female aspirations and male practicality. Hero Srikant, a newbie (who worked at the U.S. Consulate) was not intimidated by Janaki’s talent, turned out to be an effective foil. Her very first film, L V Prasad’s Shavukaru got her the title ‘Sowcar’ …how appropriate Janaki had a commanding presence of the well-heeled. Till her end, Janaki who acted in over 400 films led an elegant life, dressed impeccably. It was K Balachander who cast her in all his classic entertainers …Neerkumizhi, Baama Vijayam, Iru Kodugal, Thillu Mullu, Kaviya Thalaivi.  In Pudiya Paravai an all-time iconic thriller of 1964, Janaki stood out in that formidable casting –Sivaji Ganesan, Saroja Devi and M R Radha. They don’t make films like these any more…Shahukars of the Janaki mould … rare.