WHY THE ACTRESS IS REVISITING A CLASSIC TV CHARACTER AFTER 11 YEARS
AN action-packed acting career has seen Ridhiema Tiwari leave a lasting impression with powerful roles across diverse drama serials and acclaimed Bollywood film Begum Jaan.
The beautiful Indian star has shown that few can play an unpredictable character as well as her, and she revisits one of those roles in the hotly anticipated season two of classic drama serial Sasural Genda Phool. She plays a lead role in the sequel of the classic drama serial, which ran for nearly 600 episodes a decade ago. It being one of the longest gaps between season one and two makes it a massively unique project.
Eastern Eye caught up with the popular actress to discuss her journey, difficult role, reconnection with a beloved character, inspirations, and big passions.
How do you look back on your career?
I look back with a lot of gratitude for the kind of great acting opportunities I was offered. Every actor has a unique pathway and mine is an inspiring one too. Navigating through various hurdles in life I have already marked a decade – alive, kicking and loved through this pilgrimage. I have always believed in myself and worked harder with each project.
What has kept you motivated?
With endless failures in my kitty, I gave myself enough reasons to find a strong purpose to wake up each morning with a smile and try again. I have lived through my fears, overcome insecurities and learnt it the hard way. And now I look back with gratitude for doing fabulous projects, including the film Begum Jaan with the best set of actors.
Which character challenged you most?
The positive roles challenged me most. Negative shades got me effortless accolades and recognition, and it somehow became difficult to convince some I could do the same justice to positive roles. The negative image still remains stuck in the heads of many and takes a while for them to acknowledge my skills as plain Jane. My fans have loved my glam avatars and it’s about time they accept me in other shades too.
Which role did you find most difficult?
Amba in the film Begum Jaan. It took a lot of workshops, self-study and back stories to bring a shift in the inner world. It took a lot to connect to Amba, and the pathos she lived in the past and the undercurrent she carried behind the onscreen rage, rough body language, foul words, and crude demeanour. It took a while to let go of Amba. She left a strong imprint and I felt heavy in my heart bidding farewell to her. This was the first time a character came alive like this, and I was broken for a few days.
What made you decide to revisit your role in Sasural Genda Phool after a decade?
When you talk about an epic show like Sasural Genda Phool, you are talking about perfect synchronicity between actors, team, story, and audience. This show touched deepest chords 11 years ago purely for the content. Viewers loved my character Disha because her journey was relatable and likeable. Simplicity always catches the eye, and this show is the biggest
example. Revisiting it is a dream come true for the entire crew.
What is it like for you to be back on set?
The cast of legendary actors channelise and bring out the best in each other, helping one another to elevate the scenes. It challenges me to be on the sets of Sasural Genda Phool where there’s no room for a dull day. Most of our scenes are rehearsed to perfection, so challenging one to go beyond limits. So, revisiting it is a great idea for me as well as for my fans.
Tell us about the sequel?
The sequel brings about a lot of freshness, considering the gap of 11 years. There is some growth in terms of age and socially, financially too. Layers and depth have been added to each character in terms of real and reel experiences that add value to the journey. The format remains the same but a few minor changes in the storyline takes the story forward with some new challenges the Kashyaps will face in life.
What is it like for you to reconnect with this role?
It feels wonderful! Disha is a strict teacher yet very grounded and homely. Reconnecting with Disha will definitely be a spiritual experience for me. I haven’t lost her completely. A part of her essence still resides within. Though it’s been a long gap, it took very little time to recall her nuances and the way she is around the Kashyaps. The script and dialogues help us to flow and be more organic. I am super excited to do this after a continuous stint of negative characters.
What is it that inspires you as an actress today?
Good content drives me as an actor. And a fabulous cast of actors is a cherry on the cake. An equally focused and passionate team elevates the subject to another level.
Do you have any dream role?
There are too many to mention. There's so much more within me yet to be tapped. I am patiently waiting for the right ones to cast me in the right roles with interesting subjects on all platforms.
What do you enjoy watching as an audience?
I binge-watch almost all films and series to see my favourite artists. But thrillers, suspense, horror, and murder mysteries are my all-time favourite content as an audience.
What are your biggest passions away from work?
I love to sing and have been classically trained as a child. I am deeply passionate about music and old classics. I find Bollywood retro classics immensely relaxing, soothing, and meaningful. I am a voracious reader and have a mini library at home. I am possessive about my collection of books and keep them well. Self-help books and motivating audios are an intricate part of my life.
Why do you love being an actress?
I love getting to be different people. The best part about being an actor is possessing a vast imagination that can be channelised through taking on various characters in one lifetime. It sets me free to emote at various levels and teaches me the art of switching on and off effortlessly.
Tell us more…
It teaches me the universal law of detachment, yet attaching myself to imaginary people, adding my own element and creating a new person out of it every time. It also gives me a stage to experiment and disguise physically with make-up and costumes, which gives me a sky of possibilities of all that I could be. This is so powerful spiritually and gives great depth and personality to me as an actor.
Fragments of Belonging is Nitin Ganatra’s first solo exhibition
Opens Saturday, September 27, at London Art Exchange in Soho Square
Show explores themes of memory, displacement, identity, and reinvention
Runs from 3:30 PM to 9:00 PM, doors open at 3:15 PM
From screen to canvas
Actor Nitin Ganatra, known for his roles in EastEnders, Bride & Prejudice, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is embarking on a new artistic chapter with his debut solo exhibition.
Titled Fragments of Belonging, the show marks his transition from performance to painting, presenting a deeply personal series of works at the London Art Exchange in Soho Square on September 27.
Exploring memory and identity
Through abstract forms, bold colour, and layered compositions, Ganatra’s paintings reflect themes of memory, displacement, and cultural inheritance. The exhibition has been described as a “visual diary,” with each piece representing fragments of lived experience shaped by migration and reinvention.
What visitors can expect
The exhibition will showcase original paintings alongside Ganatra’s personal reflections on identity and belonging. The London Art Exchange promises an intimate setting in the heart of Soho, where visitors can engage with the artist’s work and connect with fellow creatives, collectors, and fans.
The event runs from 3:30 PM to 9:00 PM on September 27, and is open to all ages.
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£1 tickets available for families receiving Universal Credit
The Peter Rabbit™ Adventure runs at Hampton Court Palace from 25 July to 7 September 2025
Trail includes interactive games, riddles and character encounters across the gardens
Children can meet a larger-than-life Peter Rabbit in the Kitchen Garden
Special themed menu items available at the Tiltyard Café
£1 tickets available for families receiving Universal Credit and other benefits
Peter Rabbit comes to life at Hampton Court
This summer, families visiting Hampton Court Palace can step into the world of Beatrix Potter as The Peter Rabbit™ Adventure takes over the palace gardens from 25 July to 7 September 2025.
Explore the Kitchen Garden, Tiltyard and WildernessHRP
The family trail, officially licensed by Penguin Ventures on behalf of Frederick Warne & Co., combines the palace’s historic gardens with the much-loved tales of Beatrix Potter. Visitors will encounter interactive activities, puzzles and games while exploring the Kitchen Garden, Tiltyard and Wilderness.
Interactive activities and wildlife learning
Along the trail, children can try Mrs Tiggy-winkle’s washing equipment to make music, search for Peter Rabbit under wheelbarrows, or test their hopping skills alongside Beatrix Potter’s characters.
The experience also highlights Potter’s role as a committed environmentalist. Young visitors are encouraged to look for real wildlife such as hedgehogs, squirrels and toads while learning about habitats and conservation in the palace grounds.
Children can meet a larger-than-life Peter Rabbit HRP
Meet Peter Rabbit and enjoy themed treats
Peter Rabbit himself will make appearances in the Kitchen Garden at set times each day, where families can take photos among the seasonal produce. Fresh fruit and vegetables grown in the gardens will feature in special Peter Rabbit™ menu items at the Tiltyard Café.
After completing the trail, children can also explore the Magic Garden playground or visit Henry VIII’s Kitchens inside the palace, where live cookery demonstrations take place each weekend.
Tickets and access
The Peter Rabbit™ Adventure is included in general admission:
Off-peak (weekdays and bank holidays): Adults £27.20, Children (5–15) £13.60, Concessions £21.80
Peak (weekends and events): Adults £30.00, Children £15.00, Concessions £24.00
HRP Members go free
Families in receipt of Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits can access £1 tickets throughout the summer (advance booking required).
Membership offers unlimited visits to Hampton Court Palace and other Historic Royal Palaces sites, including seasonal events such as the Hampton Court Palace Food Festival and Henry VIII’s Joust.
For more details and booking, visit
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The former Match of the Day presenter was voted best TV presenter by viewers at the ceremony on Wednesday
Gary Lineker named best TV presenter, breaking Ant and Dec’s 23-year run
Former Match of the Day host left BBC after social media controversies
Netflix drama Adolescence wins two awards, including best drama performance for 15-year-old Owen Cooper
Gavin & Stacey takes home the comedy award
I’m a Celebrity wins in the reality competition category
Lineker takes presenter prize after BBC departure
Gary Lineker has ended Ant and Dec’s record 23-year winning streak at the National Television Awards (NTAs). The former Match of the Day presenter was voted best TV presenter by viewers at the ceremony on Wednesday.
Lineker stepped down from Match of the Day in May after 26 years, following controversy around his social media posts. Accepting the award, he thanked colleagues and said the prize showed “it is OK to use your platform to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice.” He added: “It’s not lost on me why I might have won this award.”
Asked if he might work with the BBC again, Lineker said he was uncertain but was “really looking forward to working with ITV.”
The last winner before Ant and Dec’s run was Michael Barrymore in 2000.
Netflix drama Adolescence scores double win
Netflix’s hit drama Adolescence won best new drama and best drama performance for 15-year-old Owen Cooper. The show, which follows the story of a teenage boy accused of murder, became a national talking point earlier this year.
Cooper beat fellow nominee Stephen Graham, who plays his on-screen father, though neither attended the event.
Gavin & Stacey named best comedy
Gavin & Stacey’s Christmas finale, watched by more than 20 million viewers, was named best comedy. Ruth Jones, who plays Nessa, accepted the award and joked: “Alright, calm down. I’m going to the bar now for a pint of wine.”
Backstage, Jones paid tribute to co-writer and co-star James Corden, who could not attend, and addressed reports of a new Apple TV+ project, saying nothing had yet been confirmed.
I’m a Celebrity beats The Traitors
In the reality competition category, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! triumphed over The Traitors, Love Island, and Race Across the World. Presenters including Coleen Rooney and Oti Mabuse collected the award.
Other winners of the night
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show won the Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
Molly-Mae Hague’s Behind It All won best authored documentary
Wallace & Gromit received a special recognition award
Gogglebox won factual entertainment, while Call the Midwife secured returning drama
The NTAs remain unique in British television for being entirely voted for by the public.
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UN human rights office urges India to drop cases against Arundhati Roy
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.