Acclaimed actor Manit Joura has had such a close connection with super hit drama serial Kundali Bhagya since it premiered in 2017 that he recently made a winning return, after shocking fans by leaving last year.
The popular star has perfectly picked up where he left off with his portrayal of Rishabh Luthra on the ZEE TV show and is delighting fans with his presence. He is clearly enjoying being part of the Kundali Bhagya family again and was happy to speak with Eastern Eye about the magnetic charm of the show. He also discussed his dream role, inspirations, future plans, and what he enjoys as an audience member.
How do you look back on your wonderful acting journey?
If I look back at my acting journey it is no less than a movie script. My journey has been full of ups and downs, with a lot of twists, turns, failures and some successes, and also a lot of learning and unlearning. I’ve got to know myself better and what exactly is being a human being. In a nutshell, I would say my journey as an actor has been fruitful.
How do you reflect on your amazing Kundali Bhagya journey in particular?
Honestly, my journey with Kundali Bhagya has literally changed my bhagya (destiny). Whatever I am today is because of Kundali Bhagya and the character Rishabh Luthra. I got a lot of love and recognition because of the show. I got Kundali Bhagya when I was looking for that one big break that might change my career graph, and it actually did. It has personally also given me a lot. I’ve grown from a boy to a man and am very grateful for it.
Why did you decide to leave the show and what made you return?
Leaving the show wasn’t a pre-planned thing. It was a very impromptu decision because my mother wasn’t keeping well and as the eldest son in the family, it was my responsibility to take care of her. And the reason I made a comeback is that there was something left that I had to say through my character.
Tell us about that?
The makers added a lot of twists and turns in the plot, which made my character demand a lot from me as an actor. I was thrilled about it and also the fact that Kundali has been close to my heart. So, whatever and whenever I can do something for this show, I will do it.
Why do you think Kundali Bhagya is so loved by the audience?
Different people like the show for different reasons. Anything that is honest and truthful is relatable to people. And the bond we share, we don’t act like brothers. That bond shows on screen. My bond with family and vice versa is shown. We don’t try to be a family, we are a family! We don’t give a second thought before expressing ourselves. That off-screen chemistry reaches audiences of the show, and they relate to it. The show’s writers write the words and we actors come at them with our own senses and emotions.
You have played diverse roles. Which other characters have you enjoyed playing?
Honestly, I’ve loved all the characters that I have done. But the character closest to my heart has to be Harsh Shastri (from Prem Bandhan) because as an actor I always used to think that I won’t be able to do a schizophrenic character, or it doesn’t come naturally to me. I had to work really hard for that character. I used to think that I might end up hurting people’s sentiments. I did a lot of research before performing it. My research and spontaneity helped me ace the role.
What is the plan going forward?
To be honest, there is no plan. I only plan things that are in my control, such as my schedule, and craft (being well prepared for the shoot). Also being ready for the opportunity that knocks on my door. I stopped planning because the majority of stuff that you plan never
happens. Life has different ways of surprising you.
What is your dream role?
There are so many, ones I think about most is doing biographical or real-life characters, so that I’ll get to spend time with the person and get to portray them. I would love to do a biography of Virat Kohli and think I would look good.
What kind of content do you enjoy watching as an audience?
I love watching everything. Even if it is a normal film that is not watched by many people, then also I like it because that gives me an understanding that I don’t have to do this and should do that. I watch everything without getting bored. I enjoy love stories, action films, and documentaries. I love watching Imtiaz Ali’s cinema because he shows the character with so much innocence, beauty, and simplicity that it reflects real life such as his characters in Tamasha, and Rockstar. He shows a real graph and journey travelled by each character, and you go along with it.
What inspires you?
What inspires me is the honest work of any actor. Even a small, but impactful role inspires me. Like Pankaj Tripathi did in Gangs Of Wasseypur. Also, music, stories, and innocence of actors inspire me. Being a good human inspires me. The one who is honest with himself is a good human.
Why do you love being an actor?
I don’t think I would do anything else other than acting. Acting has taught me a lot. The deeper I go into it, the more I enjoy it. I can act until my last breath without getting bored. I don’t want to find this answer – that is why I love acting. I just enjoy the moment. It makes me forget everything, including my personal life, and issues. When I’m acting, I’m just acting. I didn’t become an actor because of fame or money. It is everything to me and a very spiritual process.
ARUNDHATI ROY’S forthcoming memoir, Mother Mary Comes To Me, is about the author’s close but fraught relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, whose death in 2022 her daughter has likened to “being hit by a truck”.
Mary Roy, who insisted her children call her “Mrs Roy” in school, belonged to the Syrian Christian community. She does not seem a very nice person.
The Financial Times, which interviewed Arundhati at her home in Delhi, reveals: “In an episode to which the writer makes oblique reference early in the book but withholds until later — because of the pain it caused — she returned from boarding school for the holidays, aged 13, to find that Mrs Roy had had her beloved pet dog, Dido, shot and buried as ‘a kind of honour killing’ after Dido mated with an unknown street dog.”
In 1996, someone tipped me off that a publisher had won an auction by paying £1 million for The God of Small Things by an unknown Indian writer. This was unprecedented for a debut novel. But the buzz among the bidders was that the novel was a possible contender for the Booker Prize.
As I was writing my story at the Daily Telegraph, the night editor, Andrew Hutchinson, leant over and quipped: “Writing about your sister again?” As we know, Arundhati Roy did win the Booker in 1997. I had actually met Arundhati two years previously when she had stuck up for Phoolan Devi, the subject of Shekhar Kapur’s movie, Bandit Queen, based on Mala Sen’s biography.
Phoolan had been repeatedly raped by upper class Thakurs (the men were later lined up in the village of Behmai and executed by Phoolan’s gang in 1981). The film was exploitative, claimed Arundhati, because for Phoolan, it was like being raped again. She wrote a piece in Sunday in Calcutta (now Kolkata), headlined, “The Indian rape trick”.
Mala arranged for me to interview Phoolan who was refusing to talk to Channel 4 which was making a documentary in India on the controversial movie. In public, she supported Arundhati, but behind the scenes did a deal with C4 which paid her £40,000.
The FT interview says Arundhati “left home at 16, putting the length of the subcontinent between her mother in Kerala and herself in New Delhi, where she was admitted as one of the few women students at the School of Planning and Architecture. ‘I left in order to be able to continue to love her, because I knew she would destroy me if I stayed,’ she says.
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The mural has been covered and is being guarded by security
A new mural by street artist Banksy has appeared on the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.
The artwork depicts a judge hitting a protester, with blood splattering their placard.
It comes days after nearly 900 arrests at a London protest against the ban on Palestine Action.
The mural has been covered and is being guarded by security; Banksy confirmed authenticity via Instagram.
Banksy’s latest work at the Royal Courts of Justice
A new mural by the elusive Bristol-based street artist Banksy has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.
The artwork shows a judge in traditional wig and black robe striking a protester lying on the ground, with blood depicted on the protester’s placard. While the mural does not explicitly reference a specific cause or incident, its appearance comes just two days after almost 900 people were arrested during a protest in London against the ban on Palestine Action.
Security and public access
Social media images show that the mural has already been covered with large plastic sheets and two metal barriers. Security officials are guarding the site, which sits beneath a CCTV camera.
Banksy shared a photo of the artwork on Instagram, captioning it: “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.” This is consistent with the artist’s usual method of confirming authenticity.
Location and context
The mural is located on an external wall of the Queen’s Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex. Banksy’s stencilled graffiti often comments on government policy, war, and capitalism.
Previous works in London
Last summer, Banksy launched an animal-themed campaign in London featuring nine works. The series concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift a shutter at the London Zoo. Other notable pieces included piranhas on a police sentry box in the City of London and a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, which was removed less than an hour after unveiling.
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Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria
Artist Shafina Jaffer presents a new chapter of her Global Conference of the Birds series.
The exhibition runs from 7–12 October 2025 at Mall Galleries, London.
Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria, combining spiritual themes with ecological concerns.
Exhibition details
Artist Shafina Jaffer will open her latest exhibition, Whispers Under Wings (Global Conference of the Birds), at the Mall Galleries in London on 7 October 2025. The show will run until 12 October 2025.
This practice-led series reinterprets Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th-century Sufi allegory, Conference of the Birds, reflecting on themes of unity, self-realisation and the idea that the Divine resides within.
Material and meaning
Each work is painted on sustainably sourced bark cloth from the Lake Victoria region, using natural pigments, minerals and dyes. Large panels are formed from the bark of single trees, aligning material ecology with the spiritual narrative.
The series weaves together sacred geometry, Qur’anic verses and depictions of endangered bird species, underscoring the connection between ecological fragility and spiritual awakening.
Previous recognition
Whispers Under Wings follows earlier presentations in London and Dubai, extending the project’s message of peace, unity and environmental care.
A central work from the series — the Simurgh, conceived as a symbol of light (Noor) — was recently acquired by Prince Amyn Aga Khan for the new Ismaili Centre in Houston. A feature on the exhibition also appears in the September edition of Twiga, Air Tanzania’s inflight magazine.
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Each character in the set has been carefully designed to reflect cultural narratives
British-Bangladeshi prop maker Anika Chowdhury has designed a handcrafted glow-in-the-dark chess set celebrating heritage and identity.
The limited-edition set, called Glowborne, launches on Kickstarter in October.
Each piece draws from South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cultural references, re-rooting chess in its origins.
The project blends art, storytelling, and representation, aiming to spark conversations about identity in play.
Reimagining chess through heritage
When Anika Chowdhury sat down to sculpt her first chess piece, she had a bigger vision than simply redesigning a classic game. A British-Bangladeshi prop maker working in the film industry, she grew up loving fantasy and games but rarely saw faces like hers in Western storytelling.
“Chess originated in India, travelled through Arabia and North Africa, and was later Westernised,” she explains. “I wanted to bring those forgotten origins back to the board.”
The result is Glowborne — a limited-edition, glow-in-the-dark fantasy chess set that blends craft, identity and cultural pride.
Anika Chowdhury says she has many ideas to further fuse craft and culture in future projects Glowborne
Crafting Glowborne
Each character in the set has been carefully designed to reflect cultural narratives: Bengali kings and pawns, Indian bishops with bindis, Arab knights, and African queens. Chowdhury sculpted each piece by hand, drawing on her prop-making training at the National Film and Television School.
Once sculpted, the pieces were cast in resin, painted, and finished with South Asian-inspired motifs filled with glow-in-the-dark pigment. “The characters glow both literally and metaphorically,” she says, “as a chance for them to take the stage.”
Cultural pride and visibility
For Chowdhury, the project is about more than gameplay. “Fantasy doesn’t need to fit into the Western mould to tell a great story,” she says. “South Asian, Middle Eastern and African stories are just as powerful, and they can transform something as traditional as chess by reconnecting it with its roots.”
She hopes Glowborne will resonate with South Asian and Eastern African communities as a celebration of identity and belonging. At the same time, she sees it as a bridge for wider audiences — chess enthusiasts, collectors, and design lovers who appreciate craftsmanship and storytelling.
A personal journey
Chowdhury’s career in film and prop-making has influenced her creative process, but Glowborne marks her first independent project. She created it outside her film work, after hours and on weekends.
“At 28, I finally feel like I’ve found my voice,” she reflects. “For a long time I felt pressure to hide my identity, but now I see my culture as a superpower. This project is about using art to express that.”
Looking ahead
Launching this October on Kickstarter as a collector’s edition, Glowborne is only the beginning. Chowdhury says she has many ideas to further fuse craft and culture in future projects. “This is the proof of concept,” she says. “I can’t wait to create more stories that blend heritage, art and play.”
Banksy’s ‘Piranhas’ artwork, painted on a police sentry box, is being stored ahead of display at London Museum.
The piece was originally one of nine works that appeared across London in August 2024.
It will form part of the museum’s new Smithfield site, opening in 2026.
The City of London Corporation donated the artwork as part of its £222m museum relocation project.
Banksy’s police box artwork in storage
A Banksy artwork known as Piranhas has been placed in storage ahead of its future display at the London Museum’s new Smithfield site, scheduled to open in 2026. The piece features spray-painted piranha fish covering the windows of a police sentry box, giving the illusion of an aquarium.
From Ludgate Hill to Guildhall Yard
The police box, which had stood at Ludgate Hill since the 1990s, was swiftly removed by the City of London Corporation after Banksy confirmed authorship. It was initially displayed at Guildhall Yard, where visitors could view it from behind safety barriers. The Corporation has since voted to donate the piece to the London Museum.
Museum’s first contemporary street art
London Museum’s Head of Curatorial, Glyn Davies, said:
“With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art. This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”
Formerly known as the Museum of London, the institution closed its London Wall site in December 2022 as part of its relocation. It rebranded as the London Museum in July 2024, with £222m allocated by the City of London Corporation to support the move. The project is expected to attract two million visitors annually and create more than 1,500 jobs.
Part of Banksy’s animal-themed series
Piranhas was one of nine animal-themed works Banksy created across London in August 2024. The series also featured a rhino on a car, two elephants with interlocked trunks, monkeys swinging from a bridge, a howling wolf on a satellite dish, and a goat painted on a wall. Some of the artworks were later vandalised, removed, or covered up.
Preserving street art for the public
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said:
“Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions. By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”