Eye Spy: Top stories from the world of entertainment

ARJUN FILM FLOP

ARJUN KA POOR’S last movie as a leading man, Lady Killer, was such a spectacular flop that it was rejected by cinema audiences and streaming sites that regularly take disregarded Bollywood rubbish. It was eventually dumped onto YouTube and added to a long list of the actor’s failures.

So, casting him in the lead role of the recent release Mere Husband KiBiwi was an obviously idiotic decision. It was no surprise it also flopped badly.

A GROUNDHOG DAY

BOLLYWOOD’S struggle with originality has led to producers remak ing movies or look ing to international cinema for inspira tion. Soon to be re leased comedy Bhool Chuk Maaf takes the ‘same day re peating itself’ premise of the 1993 Hollywood classic Groundhog Day and places it into a wed ding setting.

Rajkummar Rao plays the groom, who gets trapped in a time loop in this in terestingly designed entertainer, due for release on April 10.

Bhool Chuk Maaf

FESTIVAL SHORT DELIGHT

THERE are some interesting short films from south Asian talents at this year’s BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ Film Festi val, taking place from March 19–30. Bonita Rajpurohit stars in, writes, and directs IYKYK (If You Know You Know), a cinema-verité style short about dating men as a transgender woman.

Gordan Warnecke head lines Pink, a coming-out story about a young man re connecting with his father, who has just been released from prison. Before I Do revolves around a soon-to-be-married, non-monogamous British-Indian woman reminiscing about her past and questioning her future. whatson.bfi.org.uk/flare.

If You Know You Know

ASIF’S AWESOME PLAY

WRITER Asif Khan adds to an impressive body of work with his play Sisters 360, which is being staged at Polka Theatre in London from March 22 until April 27, before embarking on a run at Leeds Playhouse (May 7–10). It is also set to do a community and school’s tour.

The story revolves around two hijabi stepsisters from Bradford, determined to win a skateboarding competition, who must hatch a plan to stay together in the wake of their parents potentially splitting up. Inspired by real-life Mus lim skateboarding sisters from Hull, the play stars Sara Abanur and Farah Ashraf.

Writer Asif Khan said: “I loved how the sisters were breaking so many stereo types, not only about being Muslim, but also about being girls in skateboarding. It’s been an extremely difficult period for many in the Muslim community and I hope this new play will, in a small way, provide some joy and positive representation, while also offering a really fun theatre experience.

Asif Khan

CURIOUS BOLLYWOOD HIT

THE most flabbergast ing thing in Bollywood this year hasn’t been failed blockbusters, flop nepo-kids, scandals, or unbearable films that have been released. It is the terrible 2016 roman tic drama Sanam Teri Kasam getting a re-re lease in cinemas and becoming a hit, despite it being freely available on YouTube.

It was a box office bomb the first time but has now drawn in audi ences across Indian cinemas. No one can figure out why.

Sanam figure out why. Teri Kasam

DARK BOLLYWOOD CHAPTER CAUSES DEBATE

I RECENTLY posted a TikTok (@MrAs jadNazir) about the late actor Rajesh Khanna, which went viral and trig gered heated dis cussions. It’s a con versation that per haps hasn’t been had due to his icon ic status. With March marking the month when he did something that, by modern standards, is unthinkable, back in 1973, perhaps it’s time to talk about it.

Despite being the most eligible bache lor in India, with millions of women in love with him, the then 30-year-old superstar chose to marry 15-year-old Dimple Kapadia in March 1973 and impregnated her be fore she turned 16. Khanna also made his child bride give up her acting career before the release of her superhit debut film Bobby later that same year. All of this information is in the public do main. While some argued it was a dif ferent era and an age gap like that was acceptable, most on TikTok agreed that what he did was morally wrong. Even though Kapadia eventually left Khanna and re sumed her career in the 1980s, all this shows that history is often much kinder to very famous stars than it perhaps should be.

Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna on their wedding day

SUPERSTAR ATIF BUSKS ON LONDON STREETS

Bollywood busker. Vish regularly surprises the public in central London by getting celebrities to sing with him. Although he added to his impressive list with Sri Lankan star Yohani, the young singer scored his biggest coup by recently getting Atif Aslam to deliver an impromptu performance. Vish had previously opened for the Pakistani pop icon at a major arena concert, and he repaid that by becom ing the biggest-ever south Asian star to join a busker on the streets. You can follow Vish and get updates about his live shows on Instagram: @Vish.Music

Atif Aslam

PHOSPHENES’ SPACED SONG

INDIE band Phosphenes has captivated audiences with multilingual music that blends English and Nepali. Talented duo Prajwal Aryal and Abhishekh Pokhrel have added to their boundary-breaking work with the new song Super computer Space, which draws inspiration from iconic sci ence fiction series like Star Trek.

Both described the track as an immersive experience for fans of music and speculative fiction. They ex plained: “The track’s concept is rooted in a fu turistic war for survival, where mercenary fac tions hunt for hidden primordial artifacts left by cyborg-like alien civilisa tions. Our signature at mospheric sound has been in fused with rich storytell ing, transporting listeners to an era where the universe faces its inevi table heat death and survival hinges on the mysteries of space.”

ANOUSHKA HAS A FAB FESTIVAL

THIS year’s Brighton Festival guest director, Anoushka Shankar, should be applaud ed for putting together an in credible line-up. The fabu lous multi-arts festival, run ning from May 3–26, is in spired by the theme ‘New Dawn’ and features 120 events from diverse artistic fields, delivered by top tal ents from all over the world.

The festival boasts a very strong south Asian presence, with varied performances from Meera Syal, Aakash Odedra, Aditya Prakash, Aruna Sairam, Nadine Shah, Indira Varma, Nikita Gill, and Arooj Aftab. There will be sev en world pre mieres, with a major highlight be ing Wembley, a per formance piece writ ten by Nikesh Shuk la, Himesh Patel, and Nikesh Patel, set in the aftermath of the UK’s 2024 race riots. Anoushka Shankar her self will perform her new album, Chapter III: We Return to Light.

Visit www.brighton festival.org for more information.

Anoushka Shankar

MORE MARSH MAGIC

IMPRESSIVE book Her Two Lives will be avail able in paperback on March 27. The gripping story revolves around a woman leading a secret double life that is on a collision course. The powerful debut novel from Nilesha Chauvet is filled with tension and plenty of twists.

She told me: “I cannot wait for you to meet a different kind of hero-villain. By day, Rita Marsh cares for the elderly and infirm. By night, she’s a vigilante, en snaring monsters who prey on young girls. Fearlessly dark, com plex, and morally dubious, I cre ated Rita to spotlight the darkest forms of societal evil. But how far will she go for justice? How much further for revenge? Not for the faint-hearted.”

Nilesha Chauvet