How India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times

Blank ambition: TVK’s Srivaikuntam candidate Annai V.G. Saravanan walked into the returning officer’s chamber to file his nomination with a smile, almost as if he had already won the election. He handed over the papers and posed for a photo. The returning officer, Senthilvel Murugan, looked through them—no column filled, no signature anywhere. He handed them back. One of Saravanan’s friends asked: “Sir, if he signs the form, can’t you fill it?” Senthilvel, composure intact, reminded them the deadline was 3pm. Saravanan left without the smile, and returned with a completed form | Illustrations by Job P.K.

Gunning for an acro‘name’?: Countering the Centre’s decision to make Amaravati Andhra Pradesh’s permanent capital, YSRCP chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy proposed a tri-city alternative— Machilipatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur—and coined an acronym for it: MAVIGUN. Social media was swift to notice that MAVIGUN sounds like Jagan’s own name. Critics asked why, during his years in power, no such arrangement was ever attempted.

Something about Mary: Project Hail Mary—the Ryan Gosling-starrer about a school teacher sent to the outer galaxy to save the planet—is flying high, probably somewhere in zero gravity, after becoming the highest grosser of the year. Many things about the film are going viral—from Gosling’s knitted sweater and trendy spectacles to his banter with Mary—his spaceship that instructs and keeps him company during his time in space. Mary is voiced by Priya Kansara—a 28-year-old British actor of Indian origin. Gosling is as often nettled by Mary’s instructions as he is helped by them. Kansara’s part was essentially to get under his skin and she quite enjoyed doing it, says the actor. The next item on her bucket list? Playing a Bond villain | Getty Images

Allergic to fame: Shiloh Jolie—the 19-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt—does not like attention, although it is the one thing that is guaranteed thanks to her DNA. Shiloh recently made her onscreen dancing debut in K-pop star Dayoung’s new music video, ‘What’s a girl to do’. Apparently, no one on set knew who she was until after filming wrapped. She also kept her name hidden in the credits, being listed only as ‘Shi’. In an interview last year, Angelina described her daughter as being “extremely private”. According to her, none of her six children is interested in becoming a movie star. “Some of them dance, some of them paint, some of them love theatre, but none of them is dying to be onscreen,” she said | Getty Images

Royal escapades: Every woman who has ever been spurned by a lover silently cheered when Kangana Ranaut’s character Rani decided to go on her honeymoon by herself after her fiance called off their wedding in the 2013 film, Queen. What resulted was a journey of self-discovery as the small-town girl journeyed across Europe giving free rein to her adventurous side—trying on revealing outfits for the first time, visiting a sex shop and meeting pole dancers in a nightclub. And now, older, wiser and way more badass, Rani is returning to the big screen with Queen’s sequel. Director Vikas Bahl will once again helm the project, but this time Rani is setting her sights not on Europe, but on India | AFP

Star struck: Most of us are waiting with bated breath for The Devil Wears Prada 2, but Karan Johar is waiting with rattling knees. That’s because Johar got an opportunity to meet the film’s stars Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in Tokyo. “I have watched The Devil Wears Prada no less than 47 times,” he posted on Instagram. “I have quoted it at dinner tables, in edit suites and in board meetings. So when I tell you that standing next to her (Streep) and them today, I felt the ground shift.... I tried very hard to be calm and composed but here’s another confession—my knees were rattling.” The film’s first part followed the thorny relationship of an aspiring journalist (Hathaway) and the ruthless editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine (Streep). The action is set to get more high octane this time with actors like Simone Ashley, Lucy Liu and Kenneth Branagh joining the cast. The film releases on May 1, so let the fun begin | PTI