Rahul Gandhi Exclusive: I see Modi as an expression of India’s weaknesses

Puri politics: Mukul Roy has food on his mind. Votes, too. The BJP leader recently called on Trinamool MLA Sabyasachi Dutta at his home and had puri and potato curry. Apparently, they also talked polls, and the Trinamool Congress rushed to Dutta’s home soon after to prevent him from jumping ship. But Roy, it seems, has more targets on his radar. Sources say he will try to have the same meal and conversation at the homes of Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Deepa Dasmunsi, as well as with several other Trinamool leaders | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

A 'mark' of protest: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah is being tagged in selfies of people sporting bright red tilaks on Twitter. The trend kicked off after he said that he was afraid of people with tilaks, sparking outrage online. Udupi Chikmagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje was one of the early tweeters. Using the hashtag #selfiewithtilak, she said: “Tilak has nothing to do with politics. It is part of Indian culture and I am proud of it.”

Parth's path to polls: The growing demand within the Nationalist Congress Party that Parth Pawar, son of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, be given a ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, was met on March 12. Parth will contest from Maval, in Pune. The Peasants and Workers Party of India, which is strong in part of the constituency, has also extended its support to Parth. Earlier, his granduncle and party president Sharad Pawar had said that he would not contest this time. However, his daughter, MP Supriya Sule, will do so from Baramati. Looks like the next generation is ready to take the Pawar name forward.

Acing a difficult stunt: Meet Kolkata-born actor and model Bidita Bag, who is earning much praise for her performance in The Sholay Girl, a web biopic about India’s first stunt woman Reshma Pathan. In her time, Pathan charged through 400 films, one of them being Sholay, in which she played Hema Malini’s stunt double. Bag has acted in many Hindi and Bengali films, the most famous of them being her role in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui | PTI

Starting early: On Women’s Day, Meghan Markle was named vice president of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. Her role will be to support women and girls throughout the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth is the trust’s patron, while Prince Harry is its president. At a panel hosted by the trust, Meghan referred to a documentary she had watched recently—Feminists: What Were They Thinking? “I had seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism, and one of the things they said during pregnancy was, ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism’. I loved that, so boy or girl, whatever it is, we hope that that’s the case with our little bump.” | Getty Images

Relishing Russo: Joe Russo, who co-directed the much-awaited Avengers: Endgame, with his brother Anthony, will be visiting Mumbai next month. “Thank you for embracing these movies,” he said. “I’m excited to be coming to India and eager to meet our Indian fans very soon.” The Russo brothers were behind some of the biggest Marvel blockbusters like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity War. Endgame will release on April 26 | Dfree

Long wait over: After eight months, six screenings and seven hearings, No Fathers in Kashmir, directed by the Oscar-nominated Ashvin Kumar, finally received a U/A certificate. The film, starring Soni Razdan, Anshuman Jha and Kulbushan Kharbanda, tells the story of two teenagers in search of their fathers, who went missing in the valley. “Anyone who genuinely wants peace will understand that we must first stop censoring films that tell the truth about Kashmir,” said Kumar. Hear, hear.