EXCLUSIVE | India’s last Maoists: Inside story of their surrender

‘Malli’cious intent?: Voting day in Tamil Nadu had its share of theatre, but the most entertaining scene was IT minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan arriving at the polling booth with jasmine flowers rolled around his arm. When asked about it, PTR said: “Maduraikaaran”—I am a Maduraiite. Madurai is known for jasmine aka the Madurai malli, the most celebrated flower in Tamil culture. PTR was only hoping to remind people that he is a native, unlike his opponent—C. Sundar, a director married to actor Khushbu. What he may not have accounted for is that jasmine on a man’s arm is a well-worn Tamil cinema trope: the calling card of the local rowdy or a gangster who is pious as well as ruthless. Interestingly, Sundar has deployed precisely this imagery in his films | Illustrations by Job P.K.

Bleeding on the Gram: Raghav Chaddha, once Arvind Kejriwal’s blue-eyed boy, has had a rougher landing than most turncoats. Chaddha has been popular among younger, social media-savvy voters. As a result, his defection to the BJP with six Rajya Sabha colleagues, has been met with a sustained wave of memes and a sharp drop in Instagram followers. He had 14.6 million followers on April 24, the day of the announcement; it was down to 12.2 million by April 28—a loss of 24 lakh followers, more than what most people accumulate in a lifetime of flexing on the Gram.

Trophy-worthy reply: During an interaction on X, a fan told Preity Zinta that her IPL team Punjab Kings had not yet won a trophy because Zinta is the trophy. Zinta had an apt reply. “Thank you, that’s very sweet but honestly speaking, no woman wants to be a trophy,” she said. “Trophies are owned, women are not. Trophies are kept in glass cupboards and a woman’s place is in your life and in your heart.” It is not always you get the right reply at the right time—sweet, with just the right amount of sting | Getty Images

The plot thickens: Comedy works best when it highlights serious issues, as filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani knows well. His 2009 coming-of-age film 3 Idiots was the perfect mix of heart and humour, vim and wit. Revolving around the lives of three friends in an engineering college, it slyly slammed our education system through satire and became the highest-grossing film of the year. And now, we are getting a sequel. “Raju (Hirani) is working on 3 Idiots 2 right now,” confirmed Aamir Khan. “I have heard the story and it is wonderful.” Apparently, the events are set 10 years later and Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi will be reprising their roles. In these dire times, if anyone can lift our moods it is the three idiots all grown up | AFP

If looks could kill: The traditional side of Rihanna was on display when she visited the Ambani home Antilia during her recent trip to India to promote her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty. She immersed herself in Indian culture, replete with aarti, flower petals and traditional dance. But her fun side was brought out by Tamil influencer Nejm, who taught her how to express emotions with her eyes, besides a few bharatnatyam mudras. Nejm asked the global pop icon to react with just expressions to a few imaginary scenarios: when she meets her partner A$AP Rocky or her kids, or when she hears someone gossiping about her. Also, when she sees someone who has never heard of Fenty Beauty before. To which, the scorn on Rihanna’s face could have scorched a cosmetics rookie into dust and ashes | AFP

Out with a bang: This might be the end of the road for Stephen Colbert as far as his TV programme The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is concerned, but he’s not going without making some noise. In one of the show’s final episodes, Colbert is sitting down with Barack Obama in what seems to be a win-win for both men. Obama gets to speak about the new Barack Obama Presidential Center, which is all set to open on June 19, and Colbert gets to exit with a high-profile guest. “Tuesday May 5 here on The Late Show in his first interview from the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, I will be sitting down with former president Barack Obama,” said Colbert. Obama’s announcement was with less fanfare: “Couch booked. Volume up. Ready to go.” Man of few words? | Getty Images