For a fistful of coal

An oath to soothe: With the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections scheduled for December 1, politicians of all hues have hit the streets. MLA M. Hanumantha Rao, of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, was keen to do his bit for the party. But, Rao, who represents a constituency within city limits, was in for a surprise. He ran into a road block put up by members of a residents’ welfare association which was up in arms about the state of the roads in the area. The crowds were not be pacified by the MLA’s speech or his willingness to give a written assurance that the roads would be repaired. The protestors dispersed only after Rao placed his palm on his head and swore that he would resolve their issue | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

‘Custom’ised diplomacy: A new Israeli diplomat has made a splash in India. The embassy’s dishy new spokesperson Muhamed Heib recently posted a picture on social media of him lighting lamps on Diwali, his first in the country. He received a response from Incredible India, the country’s official tourism promotion entity, thanking him for sharing such a “personable picture of Diwali in India”. Needless to say, Heib is thrilled. Earlier it was Maya Kadosh, the former deputy head of mission, who had wowed India in her own special way. She wore saris on special occasions and once even walked the ramp in one.

Sudden summons syndrome: Congress Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma calling or rescheduling meetings of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs on short notice is causing problems for the MPs who are based outside Delhi. Recently, members received an SMS from the committee secretariat giving them 48-hour notice for a meeting. Now, some committee members are planning to request Rajya Sabha chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu to issue clear directions on the number of days of advance notice required for calling or rescheduling a meeting.

A date to remember: A Monsoon Date, starring Konkana Sen Sharma, has won the award for best short film at the Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati. “I am very elated and happy with the news! I believe A Monsoon Date is one such short film that manifests the thought that good stories or unique content does not need to be long but can have a huge impact,” said Konkana. The film, directed by Tanuja Chandra, is about a young woman’s journey to meet an admirer | AFP

Duty calls: Anushka Sharma did not let her pregnancy get in the way of work. Recently, she was spotted en-route to shooting for her brand commitments. She will be shooting in various Mumbai studios for a week, with all precautions being taken to ensure her safety amidst the pandemic. The actor plans to resume full-fledged work in May, four months after her delivery date. She looked smashing in a green maxi gown, pregnancy glow firmly in place | Instagram@instantbollywood

On the write track: Quentin Tarantino is turning author. The Oscar-winning director has signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins. One of them will be a novelisation of his hit film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), a reimagining of the Manson murders of 1969. “In the ’70s, movie novelisations were the first adult books I grew up reading. And to this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre,” said Tarantino, calling the book his contribution to the “often marginalised yet beloved subgenre in literature”. The second is a nonfiction book titled Cinema Speculation, a bunch of essays from his years as a filmmaker | Featureflash

Back from the brink: Recently, Baahubali actor Rana Daggubati opened up about his health problems last year. “When life was on a fast forward, there was suddenly a pause button,” said an emotional Daggubati, 36. “There was BP, calcification around the heart and you have failed kidneys…. [There was] a 70 per cent chance of stroke or haemorrhage and 30 per cent chance of death straight.” A hale and hearty Daggubati has now thrown himself into work, with his multilingual film, Haathi Mere Saathi, scheduled to release next year | Courtesy: Longines