Pooja Pillai is an entertainment journalist with Asian Media Group, where she covers cinema, pop culture, internet trends, and the politics of representation. Her work spans interviews, cultural features, and social commentary across digital platforms.
She began her reporting career as a news anchor, scripting and presenting stories for a regional newsroom. With a background in journalism and media studies, she has since built a body of work exploring how entertainment intersects with social and cultural shifts, particularly through a South Indian lens.
She brings both newsroom rigour and narrative curiosity to her work, and believes the best stories don’t just inform — they reveal what we didn’t know we needed to hear.
Canadian musician Grimes has made a public plea to her former partner, billionaire Elon Musk, urging him to address what she describes as a pressing medical crisis involving one of their three children. In a series of now-deleted posts on X, Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, expressed frustration over Musk’s lack of response to her private attempts to contact him.
"Please respond about our child’s medical crisis," she wrote. "I’m sorry to bring this up publicly, but ignoring the situation is no longer an option. This needs immediate attention."
Screenshots of Grimes' now-deleted tweets calling on Elon Musk to address their child’s medical crisisTwitter/ @grimezsz
Grimes did not specify the nature of the medical issue but emphasised its urgency, warning that their child could suffer "lifelong harm" if it is not addressed promptly. She also urged Musk to either communicate with her directly or appoint someone to handle the matter.
"If you don’t want to talk to me, can you at least designate or hire someone to handle this? It’s urgent, Elon," she added.
Deleted tweets from Grimes urging Elon Musk to respond to their child’s urgent medical issueTwitter/@grimezsz
She further claimed that Musk had ignored texts, calls, emails, and meetings regarding the issue.
The couple, who began dating in 2018, share three children: X Æ A-Xii (4), Exa Dark Sideræl (3), and Techno Mechanicus (2). It remains unclear which child Grimes was referring to in her posts.
This is not the first time Grimes has publicly criticised Musk’s handling of their co-parenting responsibilities. Earlier this month, she called him out for taking their eldest son, X Æ A-Xii, to a high-profile White House event without informing her. "He shouldn’t be in public like this," she wrote at the time, reacting to event photos circulating online.
Musk, who has fathered at least 13 children with multiple partners, has yet to publicly respond to Grimes’ latest appeal. This situation has reignited discussions about the challenges of co-parenting with a high-profile figure.
Social media users remain divided on the issue. Some sympathised with Grimes, arguing that she had no choice but to go public, while others criticised her for airing private family matters online. Some also speculated whether Musk intentionally avoids direct communication with his ex-partners.
Adding to the ongoing drama, conservative author Ashley St. Clair recently claimed on X that she had a child with Musk, adding yet another layer of complexity to his personal life.
As the situation unfolds, Grimes’ public plea raises larger questions about parental responsibilities, privacy, and the difficulties of co-parenting when one parent is among the world’s most powerful figures. For now, the focus remains on whether Musk will respond and if action will be taken to resolve the medical crisis.
So, Kajol and Twinkle Khanna’s show, Two Much, is already near its fourth episode. And people keep asking: why do we love watching stars sit on sofas so much? It’s not the gossip. Not really. We’re not paying for the gossip. We’re paying for the glimpse. For the little wobble in a voice, a tiny apology, a family story you recognise. It’s why Simi’s white sofa mattered once, why Karan’s sofa rattled the tabloids, and why Kapil’s stage made everyone feel at home. The chat show isn’t dead. It just keeps changing clothes.
Why Indian audiences can’t stop watching chat shows from Simi Garewal to Karan Johar Instagram/karanjohar/primevideoin/ Youtube Screengrab
Remember the woman in white?
Simi Garewal brought quiet and intimacy. Her Rendezvous with Simi Garewal was all white sets and soft lights, and it felt almost like a church for confessions. She never went full interrogation mode with her guests. Instead, she’d just slowly unravel them, almost like magic. Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, they all sat on that legendary white sofa, dropping their guard and letting something real slip out, something you’d never stumble across anywhere else. The whole thing was gentle, personal, and almost revolutionary.
Simi Garewal and her iconic white sofa changed the face of Indian talk showsYoutube Screengrab/SimiGarewalOfficial
Then along came Karan Johar
Let’s be honest, Karan Johar changed the game completely. Koffee with Karan was the polar opposite. Where Simi was a whisper, Karan was a roar. His rapid-fire round was a headline machine. Suddenly, it stopped being about struggles or emotions but opinions, little rivalries, and that full-on, shiny Bollywood chaos. He almost spun the film industry into a full-blown high school drama, and honestly? We loved it up.
Kapil Sharma rewired the format again and took the chat show, threw it in a blender with a comedy sketch, and created a monster hit. His genius was in creating a world or what we call his crazy “Shantivan Society” and making the celebrities enter his universe. Suddenly, Shah Rukh Khan was being teased by a fictional, grumpy neighbour and Ranbir Kapoor was taunted by a fictional disappointed ex-girlfriend. Stars were suddenly part of the spectacle, all halos tossed aside. It was chaotic, yes, but delightfully so. The sort of chaos that still passed the family-TV test. For once, these impossibly glamorous faces felt like old friends lounging in your living room.
Kajol and Twinkle’s Amazon show Two Much feels like friends talking to people in their circle, and that matters. What’s wild is, these folks aren’t the stiff, traditional hosts, they’re insiders. The fun ones. The ones who know every secret because, let’s be honest, they were there when the drama started. On a platform like Amazon, they don’t have to play for TRPs or stick to a strict clock. They can just… talk.
People want to peep behind the curtain. Even with Instagram and Reels, there’s value in a longer, live-feeling exchange. It’s maybe the nuance, like an awkward pause, a memory that makes a star human, or a silly joke that lands. OTT gives space for that. Celebs turned hosts, like Twinkle and Kajol in Two Much or peers like Rana Daggubati in Telugu with The Rana Daggubati Show, can ask differently; they make room for stories that feel earned, not engineered.
How have streaming and regional shows changed the game?
Streaming freed chat shows from TRP pressure and ad breaks. You get episodes that breathe. Even regional versions likeThe Rana Daggubati Show, or long-running local weekend programmes, prove this isn’t a Mumbai-only appetite. Viewers want local language and local memories, the same star-curiosity in Kannada, Telugu, or Tamil. That widens the talent pool and the tone.
From White Sofas to OTT Screens How Indian Talk Shows Keep Capturing HeartsiStock
Are shock moments over?
Not really. But people are getting sick of obvious bait. Recent launches lean into warmth and inside jokes rather than feeding headlines. White set, gold couch, or a stage full of noise, it doesn’t matter. You just want to sit there, listen, get pulled into their stories, like a campfire you can’t leave. We watch, just curious, hoping maybe these stars are a little like us. Or maybe we’re hoping we can borrow a bit of their sparkle.
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