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.
Kareena Kapoor has spoken out for the first time about Saif Ali Khan’s stabbing.
Saif was attacked at home in January 2025 during a burglary attempt.
Their sons, Taimur and Jeh, witnessed the violent episode.
Kareena says the family is still coping but trying to move forward together.
Actor Kareena Kapoor has opened up for the first time about the terrifying night her husband, Saif Ali Khan, was stabbed by an intruder at their Mumbai home. In a deeply personal interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, Kareena admitted that the incident left her shaken and sleepless for months, especially with their children, Taimur and Jeh, present during the attack.
The January 2025 break-in at their Bandra residence ended with Saif being stabbed six times. The attacker, later identified as Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad, entered the flat during a failed burglary attempt and assaulted Saif in four-year-old Jeh’s room. The actor underwent emergency surgery to remove part of the knife lodged near his spine.
Kareena Kapoor says the incident left their children Taimur and Jeh shakenGetty Images
‘I still haven’t come to terms with it,’ says Kareena Kapoor
Kareena described the emotional aftermath of the attack as “something I haven’t fully processed.” She spoke about the trauma of watching a violent act unfold inside their own home, saying, “Seeing someone in your child’s room, that doesn’t leave you. For weeks, I couldn’t sleep.”
She said that such incidents felt “unthinkable in Mumbai,” where celebrity homes are considered secure. “It felt like something that happens elsewhere, not here. But it happened to us,” she said.
‘We’re stronger as a family, but my sons saw too much too soon’
Both of their sons witnessed the stabbing, something Kareena says forced her to balance her own trauma with parenting. “They’ve always lived a very protected life. Then this happened, and suddenly they saw blood, violence… I hope it teaches them resilience, but no child should have to go through that.”
Kareena and Saif are now focusing on healing as a family after the traumatic episodeGetty Images
Jeh, the younger of the two, has found his own way to cope. “He calls his father Batman and Iron Man. That’s how he sees him, like a superhero,” Kareena said, adding that the family has leaned on each other for strength and grown stronger as a unit.
Romesh admits he’s aware of possible overexposure but says he chooses work based on gut feeling and quality.
He makes his West End debut opposite Sheridan Smith in Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind.
The play runs at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 9 December to 28 February, then in Sunderland and Glasgow in March.
Romesh will play Bill, the doctor who links Susan’s real and imagined worlds.
He balances television, radio, and stage work by turning down offers he doesn’t think he can do well.
Romesh Ranganathan says he knows the word “overexposure” follows him around and he’s decided it’s a risk worth taking. The comedian, who is making his West End debut, told the BBC he deliberately turns down roles at times but will say yes when a job feels right, putting “overexposure” and the play’s pull, plus the chance to work with Sheridan Smith, at the centre of his decision. This new stage turn comes as Romesh juggles television presenting, radio, and touring stand-up, and it is also his first proper stage role since primary school.
Romesh Ranganathan makes his first West End appearance in Woman in Mind alongside Sheridan Smith Getty Images
What does Romesh mean by overexposure?
He’s not talking theory. He’s talking experience. Romesh openly acknowledges people tell him “you’re on everything,” a phrase he quotes, not hides from. His defence, though, is practical. He asks whether the project is something he’d watch, whether he can do it justice, and yes, whether there’s a fee. That’s his filter. Plain as that.
Romesh portrays Bill the doctor linking Susan’s real and imagined worlds on stage Getty Images
Why take the West End risk with Sheridan Smith?
Because the role felt right. Romesh will play Bill, the doctor connecting Susan’s two worlds, in Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind. Sheridan Smith leads as Susan, and Romesh says working opposite her is “exciting and intimidating.” He’s honest about nerves; that’s part of the point. He wants the challenge, even if it raises his profile further.
The production runs at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London from 9 December until 28 February, followed by dates at Sunderland Empire and a run at Theatre Royal, Glasgow, in March 2026 (Glasgow 10–14 March; Sunderland 4–7 March). The revival is directed by Michael Longhurst and keeps close to Ayckbourn’s original while offering a fresh staging.
How Romesh is balancing television, radio, and theatre
Romesh fronts shows including Parents Evening and hosts a BBC Radio 2 slot, plus podcasts and tours. He’s selective, he says. He’ll keep doing varied work, including television, radio, and stage, but only when he feels it’s the right fit. If the public tires of him? He joked he might go and work in a café. For now, he’s stepping on stage.
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