Ruthless removal of Amarinder shows Congress leadership’s newfound decisiveness

Son shines, Dad fades: Even as his father Captain Amarinder Singh was calling curtains on his tumultuous innings as chief minister of Punjab, Raninder Singh was busy with the elections to the post of president of the National Rifle Association of India. And, Raninder ensured that he—and his panel—secured a massive win. After the NRAI election, he rushed to be by his father’s side as Captain turned in his resignation to governor Banwarilal Purohit. Interestingly, both father and son would find the going challenging in the coming days: While Captain is facing an uncertain political future, Raninder may face the ire of the Union sports ministry for disobeying its instructions to postpone the election and change the polling officer | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

No country for courtesy: A courteous gesture from former Bhopal MP Alok Sanjar of BJP—touching the feet of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh at a public event in Bhopal—caused speculations that the saffron party leader might attract censure from his fold. Sanjar was a corporator with Bhopal Municipal Corporation when Singh was ruling Madhya Pradesh. Apparently, Sanjar did not face any censure from his party. However, the speculations had demonstrated how uncommon it has become for politicians to extend even ‘common courtesy’ to political opponents.

Tasty diplomacy: Thailand’s new ambassador to India, Pattarat Hongtong, wants to introduce Indians to the new Thailand—not just as a place of popular tourist attractions, but also a destination for doing good business. The best way for this introduction is through food. At an ongoing promotion event in the national capital, the ambassador lent the one Thai export that you will not find in any of the expat markets here—her personal chef. Hongtong loves cooking herself, too, and has promised that she will don the apron and wield the ladle herself next time. First, though, she is acquainting herself with the myriad Indian masalas.

All’s well for Allu: It is raining accolades for Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, the latest being the eight awards it bagged at the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA). Arjun described the awards function as “memorable” and congratulated the rest of the crew. The Trivikram Srinivas directorial, co-starring Pooja Hegde, tells the story of two babies switched at birth. Close on the heels of Ala Vakunthapurramuloo was Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru, which won seven awards.

Screen-soaked friendship: After his compelling performance in The White Tiger, for which he got a BAFTA nomination, Adarsh Gourav will next be seen in the coming-of-age film, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. It is based on the friendship of three digital addicts played by Gourav, Ananya Panday and Siddhant Chaturvedi. “It is nothing short of an honour for me,” he said. “I am sure we will all learn a lot together. Zoya (Akhtar, writer and producer) has a knack for writing characters that are every actor’s dream.” The film, to be released in 2023, will be directed by newbie filmmaker, Arjun Varain Singh.

Cricket wisecracks: Well-known entertainers like Zakir Khan, Varun Sharma, Anubhav Singh Bassi and Amit Bhadana have turned IPL commentators with Disney+Hotstar’s Hotstar Dosts, an exclusive commentary feed. Sharma, best-known for his comedy roles, is super excited about this. “As a kid who has grown up in ‘90s India, we breathe and live [cricket]....” he said. “My live commentary is bound to be full of heart because I will speak to the audience as a fellow cricket buff.” He promised some impromptu humour and an inside glimpse into who he is “in his drawing room on a match day”. These entertainers seem set to make cricketainment more fun and relatable for today’s digital natives | AFP

Zealous for success: Mallika Sherawat is getting back into action with an OTT release. She will be playing a cutthroat TV producer in MX Player’s crime series, Nakaab, which follows the investigation surrounding the death of an actress. The show is directed by Soumik Sen and co-stars Esha Gupta, Gautam Rode and Ankita Chakraborty. As an ambitious woman who lets nothing stand in the way of success, Sherawat’s reel character might bear a substantial resemblance to her real one | AFP

Death by imagination: It is not every day you make a short film about your own death. And that is exactly what Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg has done. Now, his daughter, Caitlin Cronenberg, is auctioning it off on SuperRare, a digital art market. The official description for the film reads, “The Death of David Cronenberg features the subject standing in a small, softly lit room. He wears a robe and looks deeply into the camera before his gaze shifts to a motionless figure in a bed....” The film explores themes of “mortality, surrealism and the metamorphosis of life and death”. Cronenberg, best known for his sci-fi horror films like Shivers, will soon be coming out with his first feature-length film in seven years—Crimes of the Century | Getty Images