AKRAM HOLDS COURT
THE Darbar Festival has perhaps become the most important annual series of events to keep the Indian classical tradition alive. This recent edition at Sadler’s Wells was a clever combination of music and dance with a blockbuster triple bill on the opening night. It was led by a mesmerising kathak performance from acclaimed dancer Akram Khan, who showed just why he is one of the finest dancers of this generation. This was followed by a percussion concert and another led by the Indian flute. The rest of the festival had performances, discussions and most importantly, continued to build a bridge with multicultural audiences. You can catch the performances on Sky Arts next month.
TOGETHER IN REEL LIFE
AS A rule, Bollywood couples don’t share screen space after breaking up.
The fact that Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have reunited for Christmas blockbuster Tiger Zinda Hai shows how deeply in love they were with each other.
Now that Katrina is single again and Salman still hasn’t settled down, I think they should finally get back together. It is almost like they are Ross and Rachel in Friends with a long-running love story, which fans want to see end with them together.
KRITI’S DINESH GAMBLE
THE worst move that Kriti Sanon has made in her short career was agreeing to play the lead role in producer turned director Dinesh Vijan’s awful movie Raabta.
The flawed failure showed Dinesh knows nothing about directing and that is why I am surprised that promising newcomer Kriti has agreed to star in another film Dinesh is producing. The star of hit film Bareilly Ki Barfi plays a journalist opposite Diljit Dosanjh in the Punjab-set comedy titled Arjun Patiala.
SWARA: I WAS HARASSED
SPEAKING in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal sweeping Hollywood, Swara Bhaskar doesn’t think Bollywood is conducive to an honest conversation about sexual misconduct.
The Indian actress revealed that she has had indecent proposals from men and lost roles after not giving in. This included repeated harassment from a director who wouldn’t take no for an answer. She added that the industry is guilty of being in the know and by remaining silent, is complicit.
AMIR MAKES AMENDS?
LAST week, I wrote that boxer Amir Khan’s legacy will ultimately be defined by his philandering ways instead of what he has done in the ring.
He may have realised that too and has got back together with his pregnant wife Faryal Makhdoom after weeks of making an idiot of himself in the public domain. But unless he gets some professional help, I fear there will be more stories of him cheating on Faryal in the coming months and years.
FARAH’S HARVEY ERROR
DIRECTOR Farah Khan uploading this old photograph with Harvey Weinstein shows how naïve Bollywood is to the issue of sex abuse.
While Farah would have seen it as a light hearted post, victims of sexual abuse and those who have been appalled by all the Weinstein stories won’t have found it so funny. Apart from getting some cheap publicity, I am not sure what she hoped to achieve. As one of the only female directors in a male dominated industry that has a massive problem with sexual harassment, she could have taken the lead and condemned all those who have been connected with the issue, instead of uploading this picture.
Migrants in a dinghy crossing the English Channel
Sunder Katwala
