7 decades after Satyajit Ray made 'Pather Panchali', Bengali cinema seems lost

Tulsi bhai’s ‘betrayal’: Personal diplomacy does not always work, as India found out with the World Health Organization’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Tedros is fond of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a joint event in Gujarat in April, he had requested the prime minister to give him a Gujarati name, as he had been taught by Indian teachers. A thrilled Modi named him Tulsi bhai, after the popular medicinal plant. But, the bonhomie with Tulsi bhai had no effect on the WHO’s report on high unreported Covid-19 deaths in India. Neither did vehement contradictions by the Union health ministry | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Legislator, entertainer: Madurai West MLA Sellur K. Raju’s name is still tied to his ill-conceived and ill-fated “thermocol experiment”. During the drought in 2017, Raju, then an AIADMK minister, had sought to prevent water loss because of evaporation by floating thermocol sheets on the Vaigai river. Now, he wants a laser light show near a temple in his constituency as he said it lacked entertaining spots for tourists. While his idea was shot down by the tourism minister in the assembly, the industries minister, Thangam Thennarasu, quipped that it was well known to the world that Raju was the biggest entertainment in Madurai.

Catch them young: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel recently went on the first phase of a pre-election tour of assembly constituencies. He engaged with the masses and seemed to be focusing on children. He played traditional games with them, shared tiffin boxes and even met their many demands on the spot. One gesture that caught the eye was a helicopter ride for primary school kids in Surajpur district, following a request by a girl in Class 2.

The LV connection: Deepika Padukone is Louis Vuitton’s new house ambassador, starring in the latest Dauphine leather goods campaign alongside Emma Stone and Zhou Dongyu. Padukone is the first Indian to be signed as a house ambassador by the fashion house. The actor, producer, philanthropist and entrepreneur has also been named a jury member of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In 2018, Time had named Padukone as one of its ‘100 Most Influential People’ | AFP

Marvellous news: Guess who is joining the Marvel family? None other than our very own superhero, Farhan Akhtar. He will feature in Disney Plus’s upcoming web series, Ms Marvel. “Grateful that the universe gifts these opportunities to grow, learn and, in this case, have a ton of fun while doing it,” Akhtar posted on Instagram. Ms Marvel is about a teen superhero who is a fan of the Avengers. It is scheduled to release on June 8 | AFP

Snapshots of love: Chef Ranveer Brar could not be more excited about his role as a gay chef in Amazon Prime Video’s Modern Love Mumbai, the Hindi version of the US show, Modern Love, based on the eponymous The New York Times column. “Being a chef, this is a role I have prepped for all my life,” said Brar. He acts opposite Pratik Gandhi in the Hansal Mehta-directed segment, Baai. The show, which also stars Arshad Warsi, Chitrangada Singh, Masaba Gupta and Naseeruddin Shah, premiered on May 13.

Batman’s fangirl: Shweta Tripathi Sharma enjoys essaying dark roles, as she believes that it brings out the artiste in her. This is evident from her past work in films like Mirzapur, Laakhon Mein Ek and Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. Now, she is all set to bring alive the story of Batgirl via the podcast, Batman Ek Chakravyuh. She says that Christopher Nolan’s Batman series is close to her heart. Given an opportunity, she would love to don the costume and perform alongside Christian Bale.

Ball is in Bollywood: After making his mark on the pitch, former cricketer S. Sreesanth is now perfecting another kind of pitch. He will not just be acting, but also debuting as a playback singer in the dance film, Item Number One, directed by Saji Palooran. The music for the film is by Sajeev Mangalath. It will also feature an item number by Sunny Leone. “As a sportsperson, with all respect to other cricketers and sportspersons who have done acting, I believe I can do much better,” said Sreesanth | Josekutty Panackal