Why Chandrayaan-3 is a great step forward for Indian space programme

Sharing Kumbh notes: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar recently shared the dais at Aero India 2025. And the political rivals were seen deep in conversation. It is natural to wonder what exchanges were taking place between the duo. An easy guess would be that the topic of conversation was the Mahakumbh Mela. Both Singh and Shivakumar have taken the holy dip. Singh even spoke about the Kumbh while commenting on the huge gathering at Aero India, saying that the former represented India’s internal strength, while the latter showed the country’s external strength | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Misfiring gag: At a recent armament factory event in Pune, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar handled sophisticated weapons. They even posed with automatic rifles. After the photo shoot, Fadnavis returned his rifle. Pawar took the opportunity to point his weapon at journalists and tell them he would open fire unless they wrote positive stories about the government. But, the move seemed to backfire—after a moment of stunned silence, Pawar had to clarify he was joking. He then remarked that people need to learn the difference between a joke and a threat.

A resounding win: The Delhi election results set off celebrations across BJP offices in the country. In the older part of Hyderabad, there was a jubilant crowd bursting crackers and dancing to the beats of drums. But, they were not BJP supporters. These revellers were members of the political party Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), rivals of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The MBT crowd was celebrating an AAP win in the Okhla seat. The reason: the AIMIM had fielded a candidate in the constituency.

Ace act: Filmi sleuths, here’s a mystery that needs urgent solving. How and why hasn’t Sanya Malhotra got the hype she deserves? She has proved her acting credentials time and again, be it in her debut role as a wrestler in Dangal (2016) or as the shy Miloni in Photograph (2019) or the no-nonsense cop in Kathal (2023). It’s the same with Mrs.—a remake of the acclaimed Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen—that saw its OTT release recently. But it seems the actor is finally getting her fair share of fame, with the film getting the “biggest opening ever on ZEE5” and becoming the “most searched film on Google”. While it is being lauded for its storyline, it is Sanya’s superlative performance that has been praised for powering the narrative | Amey Mansabdar

Rap n’ role: The Blackpink girls—the reigning K-pop queens—are on an acting roll. While Jisoo made her debut with the romance K-drama Snowdrop (2021-2022) and is just out with a zombie comedy Newtopia, Jennie put on her acting shoes in the HBO drama The Idol (2023). And now we have Lisa in season 3 of The White Lotus. She plays the manager of the titular luxury hotel chain’s Thailand property in the comedy-drama series. And while she confessed to getting nervous on first hearing ‘action’, her character and the show seems to have grown on her. At the show’s premiere recently, she turned up in a stunning ensemble resembling a white lotus. The rapper is gearing up for her solo album Alter Ego, which drops on February 28 | AFP

Ex files: After being the “bane of (Anthony Bridgerton’s) existence and the object of all (his) desires”, British actor Simone Ashley is leaving the world of regency romance for a while to jump right into a modern-day romcom. In Picture This, Simone plays Pia, a photographer who reconnects with her ex (played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin) as she looks for a date to her sister’s wedding. While the plot is clichéd, any single Indian woman who has been pestered to no end to get married can relate to Pia’s predicament. We just hope the film, set for a March release, does not do a Bridgerton in the name of desi representation—Simone played Kate Sharma in the second season but referred to her father as ‘appa’ (such gross misrepresentation!) | WireImage

The science behind success: R. Madhavan seems to have caught the biopic bug. After Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), based on aerospace scientist Nambi Narayanan, the actor will soon start shooting for a film on innovator G.D. Naidu, touted as ‘Edison of India’. The untitled film, directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar, will be jointly produced by Varghese and Vijay Moolan of Varghese Moolan Pictures and Madhavan and wife Sarita’s Tricolour Films—the production team behind Rocketry. The film will mostly be shot in India, beginning February 18. Considering Rocketry won a National Award, could you really blame Maddy for picking another biopic? | PTI