Indian agencies regroup after failing to corner Choksi in the Caribbean

Costly joke: Brijmohan Agrawal, a senior BJP leader from Chhattisgarh, recently shot himself in the foot while reacting to Congress leaders who were calling inflation a national calamity. Agrawal said that those who thought so should stop eating and using petrol. The three-time former minister added that if Congress leaders and Congress voters did so, inflation could be controlled. Voters of all shades were, predictably, furious. Agrawal later said that he was only joking. But the damage was done | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Speculation storm: Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha tweeted that a little bird told him that “the Election Commission will not hold any election for the next few months so that Mamataji does not enter the assembly within six months”. After losing in the recent polls, the West Bengal chief minister needs to find another route into the legislature. Some Twitterati wondered if Banerjee would take the upper-house route. But the West Bengal legislature had abolished its upper house in 1969. True, but the state government cleared its revival last month, said others. The cynics said it was not up to Banerjee, as the Union government had to pilot a bill to that effect. A wit said she could always resign two days short of the six-month deadline and be sworn in again. Sworn in again, by Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, wondered another Twitterati? Fat chance. It is as Sinha wrote: “The battle for Bengal is over, but the war continues.”

Arvind’s revenge: The Centre did not clear the Delhi government’s ambitious scheme for door delivery of rations, arguing that the food grains were provided by it and that the state could not tweak the programme. The Arvind Kejriwal regime however was not ready to give up the perception battle just yet. It launched a campaign which allowed people in the 45-plus age group to get the Covid-19 vaccine at their polling booths. While the vaccines for the age group are provided by the Centre, the AAP government has sought to put its stamp on the vaccination drive through the campaign.

Vindication, finally: Their investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein won The New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor the Pulitzer Prize in 2018. Now, that investigation will be recreated in a film, She Said, starring Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan as Jodi and Megan. It will be directed by Maria Schrader, with a script by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Perhaps there is poetic justice in that a movie about #MeToo, the global movement triggered by the reporters’ expose, will be largely helmed by women. It will, however, have some heavyweight executive producers, like Brad Pitt and Jeremy Kleiner | Kathy Hutchins, AP

A grim melody: Indian American actor-filmmaker Lakshmi Devy has won the Gold Remy Award for direction at the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival for her film, When the Music Changes. The film is about a young Indian-American woman who returns to her hometown in India only to fall victim to a horrific incident when love goes awry. She is also starring in it alongside actor Adith Arun. Other winners of this prestigious award include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee and the Coen Brothers. Devy, who is also a doctor, has acted in several south Indian films like Masala Padam and Cinema Company | Getty Images

Cop tales: Salman Khan’s iconic character Chulbul Pandey got a new avatar with Dabangg – The Animated Series on Disney+Hotstar, produced by Cosmos-Maya and Arbaaz Khan Productions. A re-imagination of the Bollywood franchise, the action-comedy series for children chronicles the everyday life of police officer Chulbul, who is joined by his younger brother, Makkhi, new to the police force and inspired by his brother to keep the city safe. The first eight episodes of season one are now streaming in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu | AFP

Just for laughs: Does making people laugh come easy? It should be a cakewalk if you are Sunil Grover. Among India’s best-known funny men, the actor was at his hilarious best during his cover shoot for The Man’s June issue. From pranks that bombed to what he is binge watching (and isn’t) to his non-existent “reading habits”, Grover shares a few never-before-heard inside jokes for the magazine. He even alludes to his “break-up” with Kapil Sharma. So, do we expect a reunion after that infamous mid-air fallout? “No,” he says, but softens the blow by adding that “even a Friends reunion was 20 years in the making” | Dabboo Ratnani

Ballad king: Singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, who has given us many love ballads like ‘Kasoor’ and ‘Yeh Pal’, will now be out with his next EP, Shehron Ke Raaz, in early July. The first single from it will drop soon. Like always, the songs will be an exploration of love, longing and heartbreak. Kuhad—who released his first song, ‘Something Wrong’, in 2011—rose to prominence when former US president Barack Obama included his song, ‘Cold/Mess’, in his annual list of favourite music in 2019. Kuhad later released a music video of the song, starring actors Jim Sarbh and Zoya Hussain, which propelled it to newer heights of fame.