After parting ways with former girlfriend Harleen Sethi earlier this year, rising Hindi film star Vicky Kaushal seems to have found love again. B-town is buzzing with rumours that the Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) actor has lost his heart to his childhood friend and Beyond the Clouds (2018) star Malavika Mohanan. Malavika, who is new to Hindi cinema, is a popular name down South as she has starred in a number of successful Malayalam films over the past few years.
According to reports, Vicky and Malavika are childhood friends, but now their friendship has grown into love. “Vicky, Sunny (Kaushal), Malavika and her brother have known each other since they were children and enjoy camaraderie and bond together. But Vicky and Malavika apparently have become extremely close during this. Sunny and Malavika are also good friends. In Mumbai, no matter how busy he is, he will make it a point to drop in for lunch or dinner at Malavika’s home where she stays with her parents and brother. Now it seems that their relationship is becoming stronger and developing into something more intimate,” a source in the know reveals to an entertainment portal.
The source goes on to add that Malavika cannot stop gushing about Vicky. “Malavika is always talking glowingly about him to everybody. She likes him so much she cannot stop gushing about him and while Vicky is more reticent, he does these little romantic gestures like dropping in and surprising her on the sets of one of her South films and taking her out for lunch,” adds the source.
Talking about Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming projects, the much-in-demand actor is currently shooting for Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham Singh. He will next be seen in Dharma Productions’ horror flick Bhoot Part 1: The Hunted Ship and period drama Takht. The actor has also signed Meghna Gulzar’s next based on the life of India’s greatest war hero Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Malavika Mohanan, on the other hand, next stars in Telugu film Hero.
BBC Asian Network is starting a new show called Asian Network Trending.
The show runs for two hours every week and is made for young British Asians.
It covers the topics that matter most to them like what’s trending online, questions of identity, mental health etc.
Amber Haque and the other hosts will share the show in turns, each talking about the issues they know and care about.
The network is moving to Birmingham as part of bigger changes behind the scenes.
Speaking up isn’t always easy. This show gives young people a space where their voices can be heard. That has been the quiet reality for a lot of British South Asians. Music on the radio, sure. Bhangra, Bollywood hits, endless remixes. But real conversations about identity, family pressure, mental health? Rarely. Until now.
From 27 October, Asian Network Trending goes live every Wednesday night—two hours of speech instead of beats. The first hour dives into trending news; the second hour goes deeper into family expectations, workplace racism, LGBTQ+ issues, and mental health stigma. And it’s not just one voice. Amber Haque and other rotating presenters keep it fresh.
Young British Asians finally hearing voices that reflect their experiences and challenges Gemini AI
What exactly is Asian Network Trending?
Two shows in one, really.
First hour: the hot takes. Social media buzzing? Celebrity drama? Immigration news? Covered while it’s relevant.
Second hour: the deep dive. One topic per week, unpacked with guests and people who know what they are talking about. Mental health, dating outside culture, career pressures, unspoken hierarchies, all of it finally getting the airtime it deserves.
Head of Asian Network Ahmed Hussain said the new show was designed to give space for thoughtful and relevant conversation. “It’s a bold new space for speech, discussion and current affairs that reflects the voices, concerns and passions of British Asians today,” he said.
Why go for a rotating hosts format?
You can’t sum up the “British Asian experience” with just one voice. A kid in Leicester whose family speaks Gujarati has a very different life from a Punjabi speaker in Southall. And a Muslim teen’s day-to-day reality isn’t the same as a Hindu’s or Sikh’s. Then there’s money, family pressures, school, work, and everyone is navigating their own path.
Why now? Why speech radio?
British Asians are visible, sure. Big festivals, business power, cultural moments. Yet mainstream media often treats the community like a footnote.
Music connects to heritage, yes. But it can’t talk about why your mum nags about you becoming a doctor when you want to study film. Radio forces engagement, intimacy, and honesty.
Surveys back it up. 57% of British South Asians feel they constantly have to prove they are English. 96% say accent and name affect perception. This show is a platform for those contradictions to exist out loud.
Who’s on air and why does it matter?
Amber Haque is first up, but the rotating system means different voices each week. BBC Three and Channel 4 experience under her belt helps navigate sensitive topics without preaching.
Representation isn’t just faces. It’s who decides what stories get told, who gets to question, who sets the tone. Asian Network Trending is designed to widen that lens, not narrow it.
What topics will the show cover?
Identity and belonging: balancing Britishness and South Asian heritage.
Mental health: breaking taboos in families.
Careers: that awkward "but why?" when you mention graphic design. The side hustle your parents call a hobby.
Relationships: the 'who's their family?' interrogation. The quiet terror before saying you're gay.
Community: the aunty and her "fairness cream" comments. The gap between your life and your grandparents' world.
Challenges and stakes
British South Asians aren’t all the same. Differences in religion, language, region, and class make their experiences varied and complex. Cover one slice and you alienate the rest. Go too safe and the younger audience won’t listen. Go too risky and conservative backlash is real.
Resources are tight. Speech radio costs money: producers, researchers, fact checks. Can it sustain deep conversations without cutting corners? That is the test.
What could success look like?
Not just ratings. Real impact: young people hear themselves articulated, families spark conversations, new voices get a platform, policymakers listen. Even a single clip prompting debate online counts. The proof is in engagement, in messy human response, not charts.
A mic, not a manifesto
This launch isn’t a cure-all. It’s a step, a loud, messy one. It hands the mic to people who mostly spoke filtered, cautious words. Let it stumble, argue, and surprise. Let it be uncomfortable. If it does that even sometimes, it has already done its job. Because for the first time, British Asian youth get to hear themselves, not through music, not as a statistic, but as real, living voices.
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.