Banita Burning Bright

The South Asian Excellence party before the Oscars, an event that was started four years ago by Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and her publicist and manager Anjula Acharia, has become a must attend for all bright young South Asians. One who stood out this year was Banita Sandhu. She is a Welsh actress born to British Sikh parents. Sandhu made her Indian debut in Shoojit Sircar’s October (2018) and has been seen in a few things abroad, including as Miss Malhotra in Season Three of Bridgerton last year. Soon to be seen in ‘Detective Sherdil’, she dazzled at the pre-Oscars in an Anamika Khanna outfit and at the SAG awards in a sculpted Amit Aggarwal gown.

Cross Border

Deli Boys, about two Pakistani-American boys who learn that their late father was a mafia king, has just started streaming on Hulu in the US. The brothers are played by Saagar Shaikh and Asif Ali. Playing the mafia antagonist is India’s very own actress Poorna Jagannathan, whom viewers will remember as Devi’s mother in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, and Bunny’s boss in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). Ali, incidentally, is also of Indian descent.

Sharmila’s Nostalgia Trip

One of the greatest pleasures of watching re-releases is that it is a treat for the stars as well as the audience. Sharmila Tagore spent a happy day at a PVR in Delhi rewatching Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (1966), in which she plays a journalist out to do an exposé of a Bengali superstar who is taking a train to receive a National Award in Delhi. She changes her mind after a fascinating conversation. Tagore also booked tickets for her friends to watch another re-release, Aradhana, the 1969 film where she played both the sweetheart and mother to Rajesh Khanna (in a double role, as both the hero and his son).

Banita SandhuBollywoodcinemaPoorna JagannathanSharmila Tagore