PUNJABI-language stand-up comedian Manpreet Singh will return to the UK in March for a series of shows at Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham (21), The Urban Building in Slough (22), and Chutney Ivy in Leicester (23). Affectionately known as Comic Singh, the top Indian talent promises a performance powered by family-friendly humour. He will follow up the UK tour with his first-ever shows in Germany and Holland in April.
Manpreet Singh
SAIF ATTACK MYSTERY
THERE are far too many unanswered questions surrounding the Saif Ali Khan knife attack case. From inconsistencies in the story to how the attacker was able to bypass security so easily, and why Saif chose to go to the hospital in an autorickshaw, many are speculating that the real truth is being concealed. Further raising suspicions is the fact that the man arrested for the alleged crime does not appear to resemble the intruder seen in the CCTV footage.
BAD CELEBRITY CREDIT
A TROUBLING trend emerging in Hollywood is bigname stars attaching themselves to existing films that are vying for awards, long after the projects have been completed. This opportunistic behaviour continued recently with Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas becoming executive producers of the Oscar-nominated film Anuja.
While those associated with the movie gain press attention, it feels unfair that stars with no prior involvement in a film can simply jump on the bandwagon for personal gain.
Anuja
ARPITA ART EXHIBITION
LEGENDARY Indian artist Arpita Singh will finally have her first institutional solo exhibition in London at the Serpentine North Gallery, running from March 20 to July 27.
The free exhibition, titled Remembering, will explore the full breadth of her work, showcasing large-scale oil paintings, intimate watercolours, and ink drawings from her prolific six-decade career.
Born in Baranagar in 1937, Singh emerged in the 1960s with a painting practice that fused surrealism and figuration with narratives inspired by Indian court paintings.
Reflecting on the exhibition, Singh said: “Remembering draws from old memories from which these works emerged. Whether I am aware or not, there is something happening at my core. It is how my life flows.
“Serpentine is a known and well-established gallery. To have a solo show there is a pleasure, honour, and surprise to me.”
To coincide with the exhibition, Serpentine will release the most comprehensive publication to date on the artist, highlighting her significant role in contemporary international art.
The state of Bollywood business has become so dire that distributors are regularly re – releasing older films in India to draw audiences into emp-ty cinemas. Following the recent re-release of the 2013 romantic musical yeh jawaani Hai Dewaani, the 2017 comedy BareillyKi Barfi is set to return to threatres in February.
While these older fims generate only modest box office returns, they are being re-released frequently because most few Hindi films have become so un-appealing to audiences.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
SOUTH INDIAN REMAKES NO LONGER MAKE SENSE
IN THE past, it made sense to produce Bollywood remakes of regional-language movies because there were no streaming platforms providing easy access to the originals.
However, in today’s landscape, where audiences can readily watch the original films, clueless Hindi cinema producers constantly churning out remakes instead of coming up with original ideas no longer makes sense – and this is why most remakes fail at the box office.
Baby John, a remake of the 2016 Tamil film Theri, was a major flop when it released at the end of December. Loveyapa, which is set to be released next Friday (7), is a remake of the 2022 Tamil romantic comedy Love Today and seems destined to be another disaster.
This week’s big Hindi cinema release, Deva, is reportedly inspired by the 2013 Malayalam-language thriller Mumbai Police and also appears likely to fail.
With many more remakes in the pipeline, it seems Hindi film producers are refusing to learn their lesson.
Baby John
HYPE GROWS STRONGER WITH PUNJAB 95 BAN
THE Diljit Dosanjh movie Punjab 95 has been mired in controversy for its depiction of the true story of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Khalra, who investigated thousands of illegal killings and cremations carried out by the Punjab police, was shockingly kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the same authorities.
The film was initially barred from screening at a major international film festival and later banned in India after producers refused to make more than 100 cuts requested by the censor board.
While it remains banned in India, the uncut version wasscheduled for an international release next Friday (7), but that release has now been stopped.
It appears that some powerful forces in India are determined to prevent audiences from watching this film. Ironically, the obstacles they have created are giving Punjab 95 free publicity, making audiences even more eager to see it.
Punjab 95
REALITY TV WINNERS HAVE BIG DOWNFALL
ACTOR Karan Veer Mehra has added to his Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 title by winning Bigg Boss 18. While triumphing in India’s biggest reality show may appear to be a life-changing moment, the reality is that very few have benefitted from winning it. In fact, for most celebrities who have participated in the Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother, the experience has often been a hindrance, limiting opportunities for major projects such as big-budget films. This is why this year’s winner, like many before, is likely to be quickly forgotten.
Karan Veer Mehra
MUSIC GREAT ROSHAN RIGHTLY REMEMBERED
ALTHOUGH the newly released Netflix documentary series The Roshans steers clear of scandals, it remains a compelling watch.
The four-part series dedicates an episode to each of the four main family members who have made their mark in Bollywood across three generations, including Rakesh, Rajesh, and Hrithik Roshan.
Perhaps the most captivating episode focuses on Hrithik’s grandfather, music director Roshan, who delivered iconic songs like Jo Wada Kiya from Taj Mahal (1963) but never received the recognition he truly deserved.
Hindi cinema fans will also be surprised to discover the sheer number of hit songs composed by his son Rajesh Roshan, including the iconic soundtrack for Yaarana (1981).
Roshan
MAJOR EMERGENCY FAIL
KANGANA RANAUT has added to her growing list of flops with her recently released film Emergency. As predicted by many, including myself, the political drama – where she portrayed Indira Gandhi – was a resounding failure. This latest disaster means the self-proclaimed “queen of Bollywood” hasn’t had a proper hit since 2015. Her painfully long list of unsuccessful films highlights her inability to choose decent projects and suggests that audiences have been put off by her controversial and toxic behaviour.
Anyone still willing to invest money in films starring her should get their head examined.
IN SIR KEIR STARMER’S cabinet reshuffle last week, triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner, the prime minister shifted Jonathan Reynolds from business and trade secretary and president of the board of trade after barely a year in the post to chief whip, making him responsible for the party.
The move doesn’t make much sense. At Chequers, the UK-India Free Trade Agreement was signed by Reynolds, and the Indian commerce and industry minister, Piyush Goyal. They had clearly established a friendly working relationship.
Reynolds apparently bought Goyal an ice cream some weeks ago when they were walking in London’s Hyde Park and ironed out the last remaining problems.
Goyal will have to start all over again with Reynolds’s replacement, Peter Kyle.
At least, Lisa Nandy, who managed to sign a cultural agreement with India, remains culture secretary, despite persistent reports she was due for the sack. I have high hopes of Kanishka Narayan, who has been appointed parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Crucially, chancellor Rachel Reeves has not been given another job.
But, in his heart of hearts, Starmer must know he cannot win the next general election if she remains his chancellor. Her vindictive VAT raid on private schools has ruined the lives of many children and forced school after school to close. And the rules on inheritance tax and non-doms have driven many Indian entrepreneurs to flee to Dubai. Starmer should be “pragmatic” – a word he likes – and reverse these policies for the good of the country.
By clicking the 'Subscribe’, you agree to receive our newsletter, marketing communications and industry
partners/sponsors sharing promotional product information via email and print communication from Garavi Gujarat
Publications Ltd and subsidiaries. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the
unsubscribe link in our emails. We will use your email address to personalize our communications and send you
relevant offers. Your data will be stored up to 30 days after unsubscribing.
Contact us at data@amg.biz to see how we manage and store your data.
Finding romance today feels like trying to align stars in a night sky that refuses to stay still
When was the last time you stumbled into a conversation that made your heart skip? Or exchanged a sweet beginning to a love story - organically, without the buffer of screens, swipes, or curated profiles? In 2025, those moments feel rarer, swallowed up by the quickening pace of life.
We are living faster than ever before. Cities hum with noise and neon, people race between commitments, and ambition seems to be the rhythm we all march to. In the process, the simple art of connection - eye contact, lingering conversations, the gentle patience of getting to know someone - feels like it is slipping through our fingers.
Whether you’re single, searching, or settled, the landscape is shifting. Some turn to apps for convenience; others look for love in cafés, gyms, workplaces or community spaces. But the challenge remains the same: how do we connect deeply in a world designed to move at lightning speed?
We’ve become fluent in productivity, in chasing careers, in cultivating polished identities. Yet are we forgetting how to be fluent in intimacy? When was the last time you sat across from someone and truly listened - without checking your phone, without planning the next step, without treating time like a currency to be spent?
It’s a strange paradox: we have more access to people than ever before, yet many feel more isolated. Fun is always available - dinners, drinks, nights out, fleeting encounters - but fulfilment is harder to grasp. Are we mistaking access for intimacy? Are we human, or are we slowly adapting into versions of ourselves stripped of those raw, humanistic qualities - vulnerability, patience, tenderness - that once defined love?
Perhaps we’ve grown comfortable with the fast exit. It’s easier to ghost than to explain. Easier to keep moving than to pause. But what does that cost us? What do we lose when romance becomes a checkbox on an already overstuffed to-do list?
The truth is - the heart doesn’t move at the pace of technology or ambition. It moves slowly, awkwardly, with a rhythm that resists acceleration. Maybe that’s the point. Love has always lived in the messy spaces - hesitant pauses, nervous laughter, words spoken without rehearsal.
So the real question for 2025 is not “Have we gone too far?” but “Can we afford to slow down?” Can we still allow ourselves the sweetness of beginnings - the chance encounters, the unplanned moments, the quiet courage to be open?
Because in the end, connection is not about speed or access—it’s about presence. In a world that won’t stop moving, choosing to be present might be the bravest act of love we have left.
Instagram & TikTok: @Bombae.mix
Keep ReadingShow less
Shabana Mahmood, US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, Canada’s public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australia’s home affairs minister Tony Burke and New Zealand’s attorney general Judith Collins at the Five Eyes security alliance summit on Monday (8)
PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer’s government is not working. That is the public verdict, one year in. So, he used his deputy Angela Rayner’s resignation to hit the reset button.
It signals a shift in his own theory of change. Starmer wanted his mission-led government to avoid frequent shuffles of his pack, so that ministers knew their briefs. Such a dramatic reshuffle shows that the prime minister has had enough of subject expertise for now, gambling instead that fresh eyes may bring bold new energy to intractable challenges on welfare and asylum.
“Can Shabana Mahmood save Keir Starmer?” is the question being asked in Westminster. Small boats are increasingly talked about as an existential risk to the government. It will not be the only issue at the next general election – the economy and public services will matter, too – but Labour fear being unable to get heard on anything else without visible progress in the Channel.
The new home secretary has been asked to “think the unthinkable”. Ministers and MPs should be eager to try anything that might work – but might heed the lessons of six years of failure to stop the boats as they do. It is hardly as if former Conservative home secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman were unwilling to brainstorm the unthinkable, nor indeed to legislate the unworkable. If performative gestures – asylum seekers on barges – could stop the boats, it would have been all quiet in the Channel long ago.
As justice secretary, Mahmood’s voice was tough on crime, reflecting her communitarianism. Yet her policy involved a liberalism of necessity. With the prisons overflowing, shortening sentences and seeking public consent for alternative forms of punishment was unavoidable. Number 10 media briefings about being willing to make Labour MPs ‘queasy’ on asylum could – ironically – be a form of comfort zone politics; a distraction from tougher choices that might actually work. Hotel use for asylum could end in 2026 – not 2029 – if ministers both streamlined appeals and gave asylum seekers from high-risk countries limited leave to remain – with the right to work and the responsibility to house themselves. It could save billions, if the government can navigate the political risks. Labour’s challenge is to show how it can deliver an orderly and humane system by cooperating with allies, not ripping up treaties.
Migrants in a dinghy crossing the English Channel
As Mahmood becomes the most prominent British Asian and British Muslim in public life, others project contradictory ideas of what they imagine her politics, faith and personality mean. It is curious that Maurice Glasman could declare her the new leader of his Blue Labour faction (though Mahmood does not share the baron’s misplaced enthusiasm for US president Donald Trump) while Reform donor Aaron Banks declared that a Muslim lawyer as home secretary would immediately ‘open the floodgates’ to refugees from Gaza, exemplifying more about his presumptions and prejudices, than her politics.
There is no novelty in a British Asian home secretary now. Sajid Javid broke that ceiling in the Conservative government of 2018, yet Mahmood is already the fifth visible minority politician to hold that office. However, overt racism towards her goes unchecked on X/Twitter – where radicalised site owner and US businessman Elon Musk is infinitely more likely to retweet than to suspend racist voices who say no Muslim should ever be home secretary. That is Tommy Robinson’s view – yet Musk champions his London march on Saturday (13), where ex-soldier and minor TV celebrity Ant Middleton will pitch a London mayoral campaign founded on the absurdly racist proposition that Sadiq Khan, Mahmood and Conservatives opposition leader Kemi Badenoch should be barred from high office if their grandparents were not British-born.
This is the curious paradox of multi-ethnic Britain today: British Asian faces in high places have never been more common. Yet a vocal minority challenges the equal status of ethnic and faith minorities more aggressively than for a generation. It is not just the government that must show more leadership by speaking up to defend our multi-ethnic society. Every civic institution can contribute to how we respect differences and strengthen our common ground.
Knowing our history better is one vital foundation. Everyone is aware of this country’s pride in defeating fascism matters – but fewer know that the armies that won the war look more like our modern Britain of 2025 than that of 1945. Half of the public do know that Indian soldiers took part. Not so many understand that Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers fought alongside British officers in the largest volunteer army the world has ever seen. The My Family Legacy campaign from British Future, the Royal British Legion and Eastern Eye will help British Asian families find and tell their stories. Writing this vital chapter fully into our national history remains work in progress – but can show why national symbols, like the poppy, belong to us all and can help to bring this diverse society together.
Sunder Katwala
Sunder Katwala is the director of thinktank British Future and the author of the book How to Be a Patriot: The must-read book on British national identity and immigration.
Keep ReadingShow less
Indian infantrymen on the march in France in October 1914 during World War I. (Photo: Getty Images)
This country should never forget what we all owe to those who won the second world war against fascism. So the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day this year have had a special poignancy in bringing to life how the historic events that most of us know from grainy black and white photographs or newsreel footage are still living memories for a dwindling few.
People do sometimes wonder if the meaning of these great historic events will fade in an increasingly diverse Britain. If we knew our history better, we would understand why that should not be the case.
For the armies that fought and won both world wars look more like the Britain of 2025 in their ethnic and faith mix than the Britain of 1945 or 1918. The South Asian soldiers were the largest volunteer army in history, yet ensuring that their enormous contribution is fully recognised in our national story remains an important work in progress.
About half of the public do know that Indian soldiers took part. It is better known among British Asians - with almost 6 out of 10 aware of the contribution. Yet while that means that more than three million British Asians have heard something about this, that suggests too that a couple of million of Asians in Britain today remain unaware of the South Asian contribution to the war effort.
It is less well understood that Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers fought alongside British officers in the largest volunteer army that the world has ever seen. About four in ten report being aware that there were Hindu and Sikh soldiers in the Indian Army - while just under a third are aware of the Muslim contribution. Yet there is an appetite to learn more. Three-quarters of the public believe that learning more about this history could help social cohesion in Britain. It is a view held as strongly by the white British and by British Asians.
So the My Family Legacy project from British Future, the Royal British Legion and Eastern Eye seeks to make a contribution to doing that. It aims to raise awareness of the South Asian contribution in the world wars, among South Asian communities and people from all backgrounds in Britain today. It asks British Asian families to share stories and pictures of ancestors who served, creating an archive for future generations.
When we talk about the Indian Army, we are talking about the army drawn from the India of the 1940s. This was pre-independence India – so it included modern day India and Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Indian Army grew from 195,000 men in the Autumn of 1939 to over 2 million by the end of the war. A fledgling Indian Air Force went from 285 men to 29,000. This made the Indian army of the Second World War the largest volunteer army in history.
It may sound strange to our modern ears: that Indian soldiers would volunteer for the army of the British imperial power. Yet those who volunteered often saw the German and Japanese regimes as an existential threat as well as believing that India should govern itself after the war. So the Indian Army volunteers outnumbered – by a 50:1 ratio – the 43,000 rebels who heeded the call to form a rebel army for the Germans and Japanese.
We should not shy away from the complexity and controversies of understanding that we are a post-imperial society. But this country’s role in winning the Second World War should always endure as a source of shared pride.
It matters because we should honour the past properly: we should recognise the service and commemorate the sacrifice of all who contributed, especially when the liberties of all of us today are their legacy.
Yet this matters too because of how it can help us to look forward as well as back and help us to bind together our society today. To have a story of how our past, present and future are linked, is an important part of what it means to be a nation. Understanding the diversity of the war effort is a crucial way to join the dots in the making of modern post-war Britain.
That becomes all the more important in times like these, when a vocal, visible and toxic minority are making their most aggressive attempt for a generation to all into question the equal status and very presence of ethnic minorities in Britain.
Yet the toxic and racist far right fringe have always been deeply ignorant of the history of which they claim to be so proud. What could be more absurd than neo-fascists trying to wrap themselves in the very flag under which we defeated fascism - especially when that victory over fascism was achieved by multi-ethnic and multi-faith armies just as diverse as the modern Britain which honours today the victory which made this democratic and diverse society possible.
So this new effort to help people to find, document and tell their family stories of courage and contribution, service and sacrifice can make a difference. It can help show how our national symbols and traditions of Remembrance can bring today's modern, diverse Britain together ever more powerfully when we commemorate all of those who served.
Sunder Katwala is the director of thinktank British Future and the author of the book How to Be a Patriot: The must-read book on British national identity and immigration.
How noticing the changes in my father taught me the importance of early action, patience, and love
I don’t understand people who don’t talk or see their parents often. Unless they have done something to ruin your lives or you had a traumatic childhood, there is no reason you shouldn’t be checking in with them at least every few days if you don’t live with them.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of looking after my parents – they lived with me while their old house was being sold, and their new house was being renovated.
Within this time, I noticed things happening to my dad (Chamanlal Mulji), an 81-year-old retired joiner. Dad was known as Simba when he lived in Zanzibar, East Africa because he was like a lion. A man in fairly good health, despite being an ex-smoker, he’d only had heart surgery back in 2017. In the last few years, he was having some health issues, but certain things, like his walking and driving becoming slow, and his memory failing, we just put down to old age. Now, my dad was older than my friend’s dad. Many of whom in their 70’s, dad, at 81 was an older dad, not common back in the seventies when he married my mum.
It was only when I spent extended time around my parents that I started noticing that certain things weren’t just due to old age. Some physical symptoms were more serious, but certain things like forgetting that the front door wasn’t the bathroom door, and talking about old memories thinking that they had recently happened rang alarm bells for me and I suspected that he might have dementia.
Dementia generally happens in old age when the brain starts to shrink. Someone described it to me as a person’s brain being like a bookshelf. The books at the top of the shelf are the new memories and the books at the bottom are the new memories. The books at the top have fallen off, leaving only the old memories being remembered. People with dementia are also highly likely to suffer from strokes.
Sadly, my dad was one of the few that suffered a stroke and passed away on 28th June 2025. If you have a parent, family member or anyone you know and you suspect that they might have dementia, please talk to your GP straight away. Waiting lists within the NHS are extremely LONG so the quicker people with dementia are treated, the better. Sadly, the illness cannot be reversed but medication can help it from getting worse.
One thing I would also advise is to have patience. Those suffering with dementia can be agitated and often become aggressive, but that’s only because they’re frustrated that they cannot do things the way they used to.
The disease might hide the person underneath, but there’s still a person in there who needs your love and attention.” - Jamie Calandriello